


Omelette

by Knappster



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, short one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2018-04-24 01:31:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 73,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4900408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knappster/pseuds/Knappster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Staubrey standalone short stories from prompts or just random stuff not long enough to merit their own fic. "When life gives you eggs make an omelette." -Something Rotten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hot & Sweaty

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Your window was open and you live across from me so I saw and heard you in your underwear, singing and dancing ridiculously and I really wanna get to know you cause you're pretty hot and I might have a crush on you.

Stacie wiped the sweat off her neck. Of course her AC would break down on the hottest day of summer. She got out of her work clothes and stood in front of her closet in her underwear. More clothes was the last thing she needed right now.

Stacie closed her closet doors and went to open her window, looking across to the other side of the building. Maybe 5B was in and she'd let her hang out in her apartment with her working AC. Her light was off though and Stacie was pretty sure she didn't get home until later. Not that she had been stalking her neighbor but, when you live across the alley from someone for over a year you start noticing things. especially when that someone was as cute as her.

She went into her kitchen and opened the fridge, groaning when the cool air touched her skin. She grabbed a beer from the door and pressed it to her neck and chest. She flopped down on the couch whimpering. She closed her eyes, wishing this day would end.

* * *

Aubrey walked into her apartment, dropping her keys and taking off her shoes. She checked the thermostat and turned up the AC. She went into her room and changed into shorts and a tank top, tying back her hair. She looked out the window and smiled when she saw the light was on in 5C's apartment. She felt weird having a crush on someone when she didn't even know her name, but her stomach flipped every time their eyes met from across the alley and the brunette waved with a smile, or the times she ran into her in the elevator and they exchanged polite hellos. She had thought about asking the brunette out a million times but she'd never had the courage to actually do it.

She went into the living room and went to close the curtains when she saw her. The brunette was jumping around in her underwear, her mouth was moving but Aubrey couldn't hear anything with the window closed. Aubrey turned away and pressed herself to the wall. She knew she shouldn't stay there, looking at her like a creeper, but one more quick look wouldn't hurt anyone. She turned back and started opening the window. She heard the brunette's voice; it was beautiful and soft. She was only supposed to stay there for the time it took her to open the window but she was mesmerized. She started to lean forward, the brunette's voice calling to her like a siren's song. Her hand slipped on the windowsill, making the window close loudly and the dancing brunette to turn around.

Aubrey's eyes widened and she could feel herself blushing furiously when their eyes connected. She dropped to the floor and crawled over to the window muttering curses. She sat with her back to the wall and took a deep breath, wishing the earth would open up and swallow her whole. She took a couple of calming breaths. Maybe she should go over there and apologize, she didn't want the brunette to think she was a total creeper who was just staring at her dancing in her underwear, even though that was exactly what she was doing.

Aubrey sighed and stood up, putting on flip flops and walking to the brunette's apartment. She knocked on the door and waited.

Stacie opened the door in her underwear. Aubrey swallowed and couldn't help running her gaze up Stacie's body. Stacie smirked at her when she reached her face and Aubrey cleared her throat. "Hi, umm, I'm Aubrey, I live in 5B. I've seen you." Stacie raised her eyebrows. "I mean, around the building. I don't usually stand by the window like a creeper." Aubrey ran her hand through the back of her neck. "I wanted to apologize for just now, I was closing the window and I saw you and, you have a really nice voice by the way, the point is I'm sorry if it seemed that I was just staring at you, I wasn't."

Stacie smiled. "You're adorable." Aubrey blushed and looked down and Stacie chuckled. "I'm Stacie."

Aubrey looked up and smiled at her. "Stacie." She spotted a drop of sweat trickling down Stacie's neck and in between her breasts and she bit her lip. She looked up at Stacie who was smirking again, her eyes looking darker than they did when she opened the door. "I should…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Stacie had reached out and pulled her into her apartment, pressing her against the wall. "I've seen you too."

Aubrey's hands moved to Stacie's bare waist. "You have?"

Stacie nodded and leaned forward, stopping just before her lips met Aubrey's. Aubrey whimpered and closed the distance between their lips, kissing the brunette passionately. Stacie cupped her neck and pressed her body closer to Aubrey's, her hands moving down over her breasts to the bottom of her tank top. She sneaked her fingers under it, brushing over Aubrey's stomach making the blonde gasp.

Stacie kissed up her jaw and stopped by her ear. "I've been thinking about doing this for so long."

Aubrey moaned and flipped them over, pressing Stacie against the wall and capturing her lips again. She started feeling extremely hot. At first she thought it was because of what was happening but then she realized the room was really hot. She pulled back from Stacie and tried to catch her breath. Stacie frowned. Aubrey looked at her and smiled. "Is your AC broken?"

Stacie smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that's why I was in my underwear."

"Oh.. Do you want to take this to my place? Mine's working fine."

Stacie pecked Aubrey's lips. "Sure, just let me put on some clothes."

Aubrey grabbed her wrist when she started walking away. "Don't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm just gonna use this to put drabbles and short prompts. If you have any requests send them on my and ACamp-toner's tumblr ss-staubrey.


	2. Truth or Dare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: the Bella's play truth or dare and Staubrey smut happens.

 

Aubrey handed Stacie a cup and sat next to her, kissing her cheek. Stacie wrapped her arm around her waist and rubbed circles on her hip.

"Hey! We said no couply stuff!" Amy yelled from the other side of the room waving her arms. "You're here to see us, not your girlfriend."

"It's not her fault she can't resist me, is it, baby?" Stacie nuzzled her cheek and Aubrey squirmed away and moved off the couch, sitting next to Beca.

"Fine, I'll sit here." Stacie pouted and Aubrey blew her a kiss.

Amy walked to the center of the room and clapped her hands. "Okay, let the second annual Bella bash begin!"

After their second nationals win, they had thrown a Bellas only party during the summer. Fat Amy decided it had to be an annual thing. Aubrey had reluctantly attended the first party just because Chloe had insisted. After a lot of drinks, she had stumbled up to Chloe's room, which happened to also be Stacie's room. She had fallen onto the wrong bed and when Stacie found her, she didn't have the heart to wake her up so she slept on the couch. When Chloe told her what had happened, Aubrey took Stacie out for lunch the next day to thank her. Aubrey ended up staying an extra day and spending most of it with Stacie, as well as every weekend and holiday since then.

The party started as usual. Everyone drinking copiously, until someone was drunk enough to suggest a game. Jessica suggested a card game but Benji had taken their deck of cards for a trick. After a lot of debate, they decided on truth or dare.

Fat Amy rubbed her hands and looked around the room, deciding who to start with. "Chloe! Truth or dare?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes at her. "Truth."

Fat Amy grinned. "Alright, have you ever kissed a Bella?"

"I kissed Aubrey once." Chloe said shrugging.

"What?" Beca and Stacie said at the same time. Stacie looked at Aubrey who had her head ducked.

"It was on hood night our sophomore year, Bumper dared us so we kissed."

"Damn, Aubrey has kissed more Bellas than anyone." CR grumbled. "Was it good?"

Chloe opened her mouth but Aubrey interrupted. "There are no follow up questions! Chloe, it's your turn."

"Ashley, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

Chloe smiled and filled up half a cup with tequila. "Drink this."

They went around the room, most of the dares were drinking so they started getting really drunk really fast. When it was Chloe's turn again, she was already slurring her words a bit.

"Stacie, truth or dare?"

Stacie pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Truth."

Chloe frowned. She thought Stacie was going to say dare and didn't have a question. She remembered something Stacie mentioned once and smiled. "How long have you had a crush on Aubrey?"

"Well, we've been dating for a year so…"

"That's not what I asked." Chloe moved to sit next to Stacie and poked her arm. "You have to answer, those are the rules."

Everyone was suddenly very interested in Stacie's answer, especially Aubrey. Stacie looked at her and sighed. "Since the first rehearsal."

Aubrey gasped and stood up, walking up to her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Stacie shrugged. "I didn't think I had a chance."

Aubrey shook her head and kissed her, sitting on her lap since there wasn't any room next to her on the couch. The rest of the girls were too drunk to care about them kissing this late so they let them. When they parted Aubrey looked around the room. "Wanna go upstairs?"

Stacie nodded. Aubrey smiled and got off her lap, pulling her up and out of the room. They were followed by loud whooping and Chloe yelling to keep it off her side of the room. They got to Stacie's room and closed the door.

"Truth or dare?" Aubrey quirked her eyebrow at Stacie. "It's my turn, I got asked last."

Aubrey smiled. "Dare."

"Kiss me." Aubrey kissed Stacie, guiding her to the bed with her hands on her hips.

When Stacie's legs hit the back of the bed, Aubrey threw her on it. "Truth or dare?"

Stacie swallowed. "Dare."

"Take off your clothes." Stacie wiggled out of her jeans and threw her shirt to the other side of the room. Aubrey stripped to her underwear and got on the bed next to her, running her hand over her stomach.

Stacie pulled her down for a kiss, her hands moving to the back of her neck and her lower back. "Truth or dare?"

Aubrey smirked and started kissing down her neck. "Truth."

Stacie chuckled. "I was really hoping you'd go with dare."

Aubrey bit down on her neck, her hand moving down to the waistband of her underwear. "I know." Aubrey's finger moved over the fabric covering her center softly. "Ask your question."

"How long have you had a crush on me?" Aubrey's hand stop moving, she didn't expect Stacie to ask her that.

She looked into Stacie's eyes. "Auditions."

Stacie flipped them over and leaned down to kiss her, taking off Aubrey's remaining clothes. She covered Aubrey's breast with her hand and kissed up her jaw. She took Aubrey's earlobe into her mouth and rolled her nipple between her fingers, making Aubrey moan. She kissed down her neck slowly. "Truth or dare?"

Stacie straightened up to look at her. "Dare."

Aubrey smirked and pulled her down, moving her mouth next to her ear. "Fuck me."

Stacie's stomach flipped. She kissed Aubrey while her hand moved down her body. She ran her fingers lightly over Aubrey, her fingers sliding easily. "You're so wet, baby."

She moved her middle finger in small circles making Aubrey pant in her ear. "Do you like that?" Aubrey nodded. "I have to make sure I'm doing this right, wouldn't want to lose because I didn't get my dare done."

She moved her finger down and entered her. "Like this?"

"More." Aubrey bit her lip and looked up at her.

Stacie nodded and added a second finger, curling them inside of her. "How's that?"

Aubrey nodded, her lip still clasped tightly between her teeth. Stacie pumped her fingers in and out of her, her thumb moving from side to side on the outside. When Stacie felt she was getting close she slowed down. "Truth or dare?"

"Stacie!" Aubrey moved her hips down trying to get some friction.

"It's my turn, truth or dare?"

Her thumb swiped over a sensitive spot making her shudder. "Fuck, dare."

Stacie smiled and quickened her pace, working Aubrey up easily again. "Come."

Aubrey cried out, wrapping her arms around Stacie's shoulders and pulling her close. Stacie felt Aubrey's muscles contracting around her fingers and her legs closing, trapping her hand inside of her. She kissed Aubrey's shoulders until she felt her relax. She removed her hand and rolled them over so Aubrey was on top. She pulled the covers over them and kissed Aubrey's temple. Aubrey draped her leg over Stacie and snuggled closer. "We should play truth or dare more often."


	3. Pretty Good Bad Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Stacie is Chloe's younger sister. One day Chloe and Beca walk in on Staubrey doing the dirty. Beca immediately commends Stacie and start to make fun of Aubrey, while Chloe is mad at Aubrey for hooking up with her sister and mad at Stacie for hooking up with her best friend.

Aubrey knew this was very wrong. But the hands currently pinning her against the door, the lips and tongue moving in sync with hers, felt very right, so no matter how many times her brain told her this was wrong, she couldn't stop herself.

It had all started when Chloe, her best friend and roommate for the past three years, invited her to spend the summer in her family beach house in Florida. She figured this was better than six weeks of trying to please her parents so she said yes. They'd arrived at the house. Chloe's parents had decided to go on a cruise that year so it would just be them, Chloe's sister and one of her friends who were arriving the next day.

Chloe often talked about her younger sister. They were pretty close, they skyped and talked on the phone all the time. Aubrey had never seen her, except for the pictures Chloe had in her room. She looked very different from Chloe but Aubrey imagined they'd be pretty similar personality wise.

They were getting ready for bed when Aubrey got curious about Stacie. "What's your sister like?"

Chloe tilted her head and thought about it for a second. "She's pretty great. She's smart and funny, although I don't know if her particular kind of humor is your thing. You should get used to it though, she's starting at Barden this year and I'm sure I can talk her into auditioning for the Bellas."

"Oh?" Aubrey was suddenly nervous about this meeting. It was one thing meeting your best friend's sister who you may not see ever again until maybe her wedding, and a very different thing meeting your best friend's sister who was going to join your a capella group and probably be hanging out with you frequently.

"Don't worry, she's pretty easy going. She'll love you." Chloe smiled at her reassuringly. Aubrey smiled back but worried about it the rest of the night.

Chloe and Aubrey went running early the next morning. Chloe had protested but Aubrey said that being on vacation didn't mean they could skip cardio. They were getting back when the front door opened and someone carrying a huge suitcase came in.

"Stacie!" Chloe smiled and ran to the door, hugging someone who Aubrey figured was her sister but was mostly hidden behind Chloe.

"Ew, Chlo, you're all sweaty and gross." Chloe laughed and let her go, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards Aubrey.

Aubrey didn't know how she looked but she was sure she was sweaty and gross too, and probably a little flushed. She wiped her hands on her pants and smiled, looking up at them. "Stace, this is Aubrey."

Stacie smiled at her and Aubrey stopped breathing. Most of Chloe's pictures were from when they were both younger, she hadn't seen a picture of Stacie over 15, but this was not how she'd pictured her. She was wearing a pair of shorts showing off the longest legs she had ever seen. Her shirt was fitted but not tight, still, Aubrey could tell she had an amazing body. The moment she had smiled at her, Aubrey had forgotten there was anyone else in the room.

"I'm sweaty and gross too." Aubrey mentally facepalmed herself.  _That's not what you're supposed to say to a very hot girl. A very hot girl who also happens to be your best friend's sister. Keep it in your pants, Posen._

Stacie's smile got wider and Aubrey noticed how her eyes roamed over her body before settling on her face again. "Gross is the last word I'd use to describe you." Stacie's tone was innocent but her eyes held an intensity that made Aubrey's heart race.

A loud crash was heard from the entrance and they all turned around. A small brunette was trying to carry a bag almost as big as herself. "Dude, some help would be nice."

Stacie hurried to her. "Did you have to bring all this shit? We're at the beach, you don't need three mixing boards."

"You don't need five books and your kindle but did I tell you to leave them at home?"

Aubrey chuckled behind them and Stacie turned. "Oh Beca, that's Chloe's friend Aubrey and you remember Chloe."

Beca smiled at them and nodded. "Hey."

"We should go shower." Chloe let Aubrey go first and then started going up the stairs. "I took the big room and Aubrey is in the guest room, you can share our room with Beca."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Stacie yelled up at her but she couldn't follow since she was helping Beca with her bag.

"You got here too late, sis!"

"I had to drive mom and dad to the airport, I should get to pick first!"Chloe turned and stuck her tongue out.

She caught up to Aubrey at the top of the stairs. "See, she's nice."

* * *

They soon settled into a routine. Chloe and Aubrey would go out running early then come back and make breakfast for the four of them. They would go out to the beach and lay there reading or talking until they got hungry and went back to get something to eat.

Aubrey and Stacie talked a lot. Aubrey found the younger girl to be really interesting and mature for someone who was just finishing high school. The only problem was trying not to stare at her body in the really small bikinis she wore.

A couple of weeks into their vacation, Aubrey was getting ready to go down to the beach when there was a knock on her door. She frowned confused and opened the door to find Stacie on the other side. The brunette looked nervous, she was biting her lip and looking down at her feet. "Stace, is everything okay?"

Stacie looked up and gave her a half smile. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, come in." Aubrey stepped back to let Stacie in and closed the door behind her. "What is it?"

"I don't know if Chloe told you but I'm going to start at Barden this year." Aubrey nodded. "I love my sister and I'm really looking forward to spending more time with her but…"

"But?" Aubrey took Stacie's hand and brushed her thumb over her knuckles. "It's okay, Stace, I won't say anything to Chloe."

Stacie looked up at her. "You won't?"

Aubrey shook her head. "And whatever it is I'm sure Chloe will understand."

"Even if I have a huge crush on her best friend?"

"You… you have a crush on me?" Aubrey let go of Stacie's hand and pointed between herself and Stacie.

Stacie nodded and looked down. "I didn't want it to be an issue once we started school so I thought I'd tell you now so I could start getting over it if there's nothing there." Aubrey looked at her with her mouth open not knowing what to say.

"Which clearly is the case." Stacie stood up and walked to the door. "Please don't tell Chloe."

"Stacie, wait." Aubrey stood up and caught up to her, her hand keeping the door closed. "I like you too."

"You do?" Aubrey nodded and moved closer to Stacie. The brunette looked down at Aubrey's lips, licking her own. "This is a bad idea."

Aubrey nodded. "We can't tell Chloe."

Stacie leaned down, her hand moving up to Aubrey's waist. "It's a terrible idea."

Aubrey closed the distance between their lips and kissed Stacie softly. She pulled back but Stacie's lips followed her, kissing her over and over again. Aubrey ran her tongue over Stacie's lower lip and the brunette's mouth opened. Aubrey's hand moved to her shoulders trying to keep herself steady, her thumb moving up and down Stacie's neck.

A loud knock on the door made them jump apart. "Bree, are you ready? I'm going down now."

Aubrey took a breath and tried to steady her voice. "I'll be right there, I just need another minute."

"Okay!" They heard Chloe's steps moving away.

Stacie exhaled loudly, resting her forehead on Aubrey's shoulder. "That was close."

"Yeah." Stacie turned her head and started kissing Aubrey's neck. "Stace, I have to go meet Chloe or she'll start asking questions."

Stacie reluctantly pulled away. "Can I come back tonight?" Aubrey kissed her quickly and nodded. "Okay, see you out there." Stacie kissed her one last time before opening the door and going back to her room.

Aubrey leaned against the door and sighed. She didn't know how she was going to manage keeping this from Chloe but they had to, at least until they knew what this was.

She grabbed her things and went downstairs. Stacie was already there with Beca and Chloe on their usual spot. Stacie grinned at her and arched her eyebrows. Aubrey smiled and sat down next to Chloe, throwing on her sunglasses on and laying back. This was definitely going to be hard to keep secret.

* * *

They went on like this for the rest of their vacation, Stacie would sneak into her room after Beca had fallen asleep. At first, they mostly talked. They would lie on the bed facing each other, their hands entwined and they would tell each other random things about themselves. One of them would sometimes move closer and sneak a couple of kisses. Soon, their kisses started getting longer. Their hands moved to the other's hip or neck, their bodies closer than before and their legs tangled together.

Whenever their makeout got too heated, one of them stopped. Aubrey wasn't ready to cross that line without knowing what this meant and she hadn't allowed herself to think about it because, if she was being honest, she knew she was falling for Stacie and she knew they should tell Chloe. Stacie knew she wanted to be with Aubrey and she felt bad about not telling Chloe, but she didn't want to push Aubrey into a relationship she wasn't sure she wanted.

They only had a few days left there, and then Aubrey would go back to Barden and Stacie would go back home. Classes didn't start for a while yet so Stacie wouldn't get to Barden for a few more weeks. Stacie felt that if they didn't clear things up before they went back, Aubrey would try to get out of it.

Stacie put her book down and stood up. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk, anyone wanna join me?"

Beca groaned her dissent and Chloe wiggled her index finger saying no. Stacie gave Aubrey a pointed look. "I'll go."

They walked down the beach and when Stacie was sure they were out of sight, she took Aubrey's hand. Aubrey looked at her and smiled, lacing their fingers. "It's really sad this is going to be over soon, I'm really going to miss this."

Stacie wasn't sure Aubrey meant just their vacation or them. "We can come back whenever."

Aubrey shrugged. Stacie stopped and pulled her to the shade. "Aubrey, I don't want this to end when we go back."

"I don't know, Stace. We can't keep this from Chloe much longer."

"We don't have to. We can tell her when we get back. Yes, maybe she'll get mad for a bit but then she'll be happy. It's like when Ross found out Monica and Chandler were together."

Aubrey chuckled. "Yeah, but they told Ross they were in love."

"Well, I can tell Chloe I love you."

Aubrey's breath hitched in her throat. "Do you mean that?"

Stacie nodded. "I love you." She leaned down and kissed Aubrey. "You don't have to say anything back, just don't end this."

Aubrey nodded. "Okay."

They kissed again, Stacie's hands on Aubrey's back pulling her closer. Aubrey played with the hairs on the back of Stacie's neck. "We should go back, they're probably waiting for us to make dinner."

They walked back at a leisurely pace. Stacie let go of Aubrey's hand when they spotted the house. When they got to the back door they found a note stuck to it telling them Beca and Chloe had gone to the store to get food for dinner. Stacie smiled wolfishly. "I don't think they left that long ago so we probably have an hour."

Aubrey bit her lip thoughtfully. She took Stacie's hand and opened the door, pulling her up to her room. As soon as she closed the door, Stacie pinned her against the door, her hands moving over her bare torso. Aubrey whimpered, she knew this was wrong but she knew she wouldn't be able to stop. Not that she wanted to stop, she wanted Stacie more than she had wanted anything ever.

She pulled back panting and looked at Stacie who looked up at her worried she'd tell her to stop. Aubrey smiled and pushed her back to the bed. She started pulling the straps of Stacie's bikini, removing it and dropping it next to the bed before straddling her. Stacie stretched out on the bed, letting Aubrey admire her body before she bent down to kiss her forcefully. She took off Aubrey's bikini, her hands roaming over her body. She flipped them over, her hand moving down her stomach and in between their bodies. Aubrey moaned when she felt Stacie's fingers on her, her back arching up slightly. Stacie moved her lips to her neck, her fingers moving deftly between Aubrey's legs.

Stacie started moving her lips down Aubrey's body when the door opened. "What the fuck, dude!"

Stacie jumped off Aubrey leaving her exposed and scrambling to pull the sheets over herself. Beca was at the door covering her eyes. "Didn't your parents teach you how to knock?"

"This is my room too, I didn't think I needed to!" Aubrey had managed to cover herself with the sheet. Stacie was on her side next to her, her body pressed closely and her arm over her waist.

Beca's yells brought Chloe to the door. "What is- Stacie, what are you doing?"

Aubrey hid her face in her hands. "Chloe, it's not what you think."

"Oh, so you were not having sex with my sister?"

"They were totally having sex."

"Beca, you're not helping!" Stacie threw a pillow at her.

Aubrey shook her head. "Can you let us get dressed so we can talk about this?"

"Yes, I'm sorry you're so uncomfortable being naked in bed with my sister!" Chloe threw her arms up and walked away.

"I'll leave you two alone then." Beca gave Stacie a thumbs up and walked out of the room closing the door.

Aubrey groaned. "This is a disaster. She's never going to forgive me for this."

Stacie rubbed her back. "Hey, it's okay." She kissed her shoulder. "We're in this together. She'll get over it."

Aubrey nodded and started getting up. "Wait, we didn't finish." Aubrey glared at her. Stacie lifted her hands in surrender. "Okay, later then."

They put their bikinis back on and went downstairs. Chloe was in the kitchen opening and closing cabinet doors while Beca watched her amused not really knowing what she was trying to accomplish. Stacie went in first and rolled her eyes. "Chloe, we're sorry we didn't tell you."

"You're sorry you didn't tell me you were planning on fucking my best friend?"

"I wasn't planning on it, and I wasn't just fucking her!"

"So what exactly were you doing then? What the fuck happened on your walk that made you think having sex with my best friend was a good idea?"

"I love her!" They both turned to look at Aubrey with their mouths open. "We weren't just having sex, Chloe, I love her and she loves me."

"You love her? How? Why?"

"Gee, thanks, sis."

"I don't know how, we just click. I feel better when I'm with her, like I can be myself and she won't judge me, I love talking to her about anything, and when she touches me I feel like I can breathe again."

"Dude…" Beca raised her hand and Stacie high fived her.

Chloe turned to Stacie. "Do you love her?"

"Yes, of course I do." Stacie smiled at Aubrey.

"Okay…" Chloe nodded. "I'm going to need some time to get used to this but I'm happy for you. I'm not sure who I'm supposed to threaten in this situation but no hurting each other, okay?"

Stacie shook her head and moved behind Aubrey, wrapping her arms around her and resting her chin on her shoulder. "So, we're good?"

Chloe nodded. "We're good."

Stacie smiled. "So can we go back to-"

"Stacie!"


	4. Halloween Cavity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stacie asks Aubrey to go with her to a Halloween party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some fluff to make up for Better To Have Loved. (Apparently it's not enough yet so expect more.)

Chloe looked up when Aubrey entered the kitchen. "Bree, do you know what you're wearing to the Trebles' Halloween party?"

Aubrey walked to the fridge and grabbed the milk. "Yeah, I'm going to be a tooth."

Chloe's face scrunched up confused. "A tooth?"

Aubrey poured cereal into a plate and sat in front of Chloe. "Yeah, a tooth."

Chloe waited for her to explain but she just sat there eating her cereal. "Why a tooth?"

"Stacie has this tooth fairy costume and she needed a tooth so…" Aubrey shrugged and continued to eat.

Chloe got more confused. "Why are you wearing a couples costume with Stacie?"

"It's not a couples costume, she's wearing a costume and I'm wearing a costume."

"That only makes sense when you're together." Chloe gasped. "Do you like Stacie? Does she like you? Are you secretly dating Stacie?"

"No, I'm not secretly dating Stacie. Don't be ridiculous." Aubrey looked down to hide her slight blush.

Chloe narrowed her eyes and looked at Aubrey. "But you like her."

"Well, I mean, have you seen her?"

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah, but you don't usually like a girl just because she's hot."

Aubrey smiled. "She's also smart and funny and cute."

Chloe bit her lip and squeaked. "Are you gonna tell her?"

"No! I don't know. I don't even know if she's into girls, I don't want to make things awkward."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "She could've asked anyone to be her tooth but she asked you, that means something."

"Yeah, that no one else wanted to go along with her ridiculous idea."

Chloe stood up and rinsed her plate. "Fine, be in denial. I have to go." She kissed Aubrey's head. "Tell Stacie."

* * *

"There's my tooth!" Stacie skipped to her side. Aubrey's stomach flipped at Stacie's eagerness. "Everyone thinks I'm just a regular fairy without you."

"I'm sorry I'm late, getting into this thing took longer than I thought." Aubrey motioned to the large tooth costume she was stuffed in. She felt ridiculous but the smile on Stacie's face made it okay.

"Well you look super cute." Stacie winked at her and took her hand. "Let's get you something to drink."

Stacie didn't let go of Aubrey's hand for a while. They went around the party talking to people, most of which Aubrey didn't know but Stacie seemed to know a lot of them. Every time someone started flirting with Stacie, she excused herself and dragged Aubrey to another part of the party. Aubrey thought maybe she didn't like any of the guys who had flirted with her or maybe she just wanted to enjoy the party.

Stacie was talking to Fat Amy and CR. Aubrey finished her drink and looked at the other side of the room where the makeshift bar was set up. She let go of Stacie's hand and started walking that way when she felt a tug on the side of her costume. "Where are you going?"

She turned and squeezed Stacie's arm. "I'm just gonna go refill my drink."

"I'll go with you." Stacie took her hand again.

"It's okay Stace, I'll be right back."

Stacie dropped her hand and nodded. "Okay."

Aubrey noticed the slightly disappointed tone on Stacie's voice and frowned. She dismissed it and turned to continue to the other side of the room. She was serving her drink when she felt someone behind her. "Have you told Stacie yet?"

"Jesus, Chlo, you scared me." She turned around and smiled at Chloe's devil costume. "No, I haven't told Stacie."

Beca came dragging her feet behind her dressed as an angel. "Told Stacie what?"

"That she likes her."

"Chloe!" Aubrey glared at her.

Beca shrugged indifferently. "Everyone knows you like each other."

"Everyone?"

"The Bellas do. We talk about it sometimes." Aubrey opened her mouth. "Hey, you're the ones who are too obvious about it, don't blame us."

"Whatever, hobbit. I gotta go, I told Stacie I'd be right back."

Aubrey walked back to where she had left Stacie but the brunette was nowhere to be found. She found Fat Amy and CR and they told her she'd gone outside. Aubrey frowned confused, hoping Stacie hadn't gone back home. She stepped outside and walked along the front of the house. She found Stacie leaning on the side of the house. "Hey, I thought you had abandoned me. That's not very fairylike of you."

Stacie looked up and smiled at her. "I wouldn't do that. I just needed some air."

Aubrey reached her and took her hand. Stacie tilted her head and looked at her, making the blonde a little uneasy. "What is it, Stace?"

"Nothing."

Aubrey pursed her lips. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Stacie smirked. "But yeah, you can ask me something else."

"Smartass." Aubrey stuck her tongue out. "Why did you ask me to be your tooth?"

Stacie shrugged and looked down at her feet. "I guess I just wanted to spend time with you."

"Why?"

Stacie looked up at Aubrey and smiled. "That's another question." Aubrey quirked her eyebrow and Stacie chuckled. "Fine. I don't know, I like spending time with you."

Stacie bit her lip. "Can I ask you a question?" Aubrey nodded and Stacie took a step closer to her. "Can I kiss you?"

Aubrey smiled and nodded. She leaned forward and kissed Aubrey. She tried to move closer to deepen the kiss but Aubrey's costume was in the way. They kissed like this for a while until Stacie got frustrated from not being able to touch the blonde and pulled away huffing. "I should have picked a different costume."


	5. Outdoor Nerds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey takes Stacie geocaching.

“Stacie, come on! We still have to get to the top.” Aubrey stood with her hands on her waist waiting for Stacie to catch up.

“Why are we doing this?” Stacie groaned as she hauled herself up the hill.

“I told you, there’s supposed to be a geocache on top of that hill. Come on, we’re almost there!” Aubrey showed her the GPS and smiled excitedly.

“Oh right, we’re going miles off the path to look for something some nerd hid so other nerds would find it.” She reached Aubrey and took the bottle of water she offered.

Aubrey scoffed. “You’re a huge nerd, you can’t criticize other nerds.”

“I’m an indoor nerd, our things are video games, sci-fi, and junk food, not dirt, sweat, and bugs.” She capped the bottle and handed it back to Aubrey.

Aubrey took the bottle and ran her hand up Stacie's arm. ”I thought you liked dirty, sweaty activities."

"Don't start something you can't finish, Posen." Stacie looked at Aubrey defiantly.

Aubrey moved her mouth close to Stacie's ear. "Oh I'm sure you won't have a problem making me finish." Aubrey pulled back and continued up the hill. "After we find the geocache."

Stacie felt her throat dry up and swallowed, regretting having given the water bottle back to Aubrey. Ever since they reconnected at the retreat, Stacie had gotten really close to Aubrey. Since Chloe put Aubrey in charge of coordinating the former Bellas, the blonde had had to visit Barden a few times in the time leading up to the competition. Chloe had offered to sleep with Beca and leave Aubrey her bed which meant sharing a room with Stacie. They had spent every night she was there huddled up in one of the beds, talking about the future and the Bellas and funny bear trap stories.

Stacie had always had a crush on Aubrey. She had never acted on it, except for a flirty comment here and there, and Aubrey had never responded when she was still in Barden. But when Stacie was saying goodbye after the retreat, Aubrey had flirted back and even thrown in a wink that had made Stacie's insides turn to jelly.

Their flirting had been escalating ever since, to a level Stacie wasn't sure she could handle anymore without acting. As much as she liked spending time with Aubrey, the sexual tension was making it incredibly difficult for her to not pin her against the nearest tree and kiss that smug smile off her face.

Stacie readjusted her backpack and followed Aubrey trying to concentrate on the ground in front of her instead of checking out Aubrey’s body. After the competition, Stacie and Aubrey had stayed in contact and Stacie had agreed to visit the older girl in the retreat. She’d arrived the day before and Aubrey had woken her up early to go hiking. Stacie hadn’t expected this to be a normal vacation, but she had hoped it would involve more spending time in Aubrey’s cabin and less outdoorsy activities, but Aubrey had been finishing up with a group the previous day so Stacie spent most of her first day by herself and was already asleep by the time Aubrey got back.

They reached the top of the hill and Aubrey looked up, walking in a circle. “It’s supposed to be in one of these trees.” She stopped in front of one. “Help me up.”

Stacie sighed and walked over to her side. “Do you think I have any energy left to lift you up?”

“Just give me a leg up.” Stacie rolled her eyes held out her hands so Aubrey could step on them.

Aubrey put her feet on Stacie’s hands and pushed off the ground, holding herself with a hand on the tree and her other arm around Stacie’s shoulder. “A little bit higher.”

Stacie straightened up, her nose pushing against Aubrey’s breast. She felt a little weird enjoying this, she should focus on not dropping Aubrey, but, even though they had been hiking for almost two hours, she smelled incredible. All she could think about was how easy it would be to press Aubrey against the tree and bury her face in her chest.

Her arms started getting tired. She tried to look up and see what Aubrey was doing but she couldn’t see anything above Aubrey’s shoulders. “Bree, it’s not that I’m not enjoying this immensely, but do you think you’re gonna take much longer?”

“I don’t think there’s anything here. You can put me down.”

Stacie wasn’t really sure how to do that without dropping her. “Can you hold yourself up on the tree for a sec?”

Aubrey shifted her weight to her arm and leg on the tree and Stacie moved her hands from under her feet to the back of her legs, her face pressed against Aubrey’s stomach. She let Aubrey slide down to the floor, landing gently in front of her with her hands on her shoulders. Stacie’s hands ended up low on her back, at the top of her pants.

Aubrey looked up at her and didn’t make a move to step away. Stacie’s hands moved up under her shirt and a shiver went down Aubrey’s back. “Stace?”

Stacie hummed and looked down at Aubrey’s lips. Aubrey’s hands moved to Stacie’s neck and bit her lip making Stacie whimper. She moved forward slowly, her hands moving under her shirt to her sides, her thumbs brushing softly over her ribs. Aubrey’s lips parted slightly in anticipation, their noses brushing together before Stacie’s lips finally reached Aubrey’s.

The kiss was nothing like Stacie had expected. After all their flirting and suggestive comments and touches, she’d thought that, when they finally kissed, it would be heated. Like an explosion. This was slow and, in a lot of ways, better. She could focus on everything, the feeling of Aubrey’s lips, her skin under her fingers, her hands gently stroking her neck.

She traced her tongue over Aubrey’s bottom lip and took a step forward, pushing the blonde against the tree and pressing her body closer. Aubrey moaned and deepened the kiss, her head tilting to the side slightly and one of her hands moved up to trace Stacie’s jaw.

They parted for breath, resting their foreheads together and looking at each other with matching smiles. “Do you wanna take this back to your cabin? I usually wouldn’t mind doing it anywhere but I don’t want to end up with leaves and twigs everywhere.”

Aubrey chuckled and pecked Stacie’s lips. “What about the geocache?” Aubrey pouted. “If we don’t find it you’re gonna have to come back with me again.”

Stacie felt her body’s exhaustion again at the thought of climbing up this hill one more time. “Fine but hurry up, I’ve been waiting for this for too long.”

Aubrey smiled and pulled away, looking up and around the small clearing they were in. She found a tree with a hole a little over her line of sight. “I think it’s here! Help me up.”

“Are you sure? If I keep lifting you up I’m gonna be too exhausted to do anything later.”

“Will you be able to move your tongue?” Stacie nodded. “That’s all I need.” Aubrey winked at her and moved her in front of the tree.

“I’m gonna hold myself up with that branch, I just need you to hold me so I don’t fall.” Stacie nodded. Aubrey took a couple of steps back to get a running start and jumped, reaching for the lowest branch of the tree right next to the hole.

Stacie hurried to her side, holding both of her legs and carrying some of her weight. Aubrey’s shirt rode up and Stacie started kissing the exposed skin of her stomach in front of her face. “Stacie, you’re gonna make me fall!” Stacie giggled against her stomach and swirled her tongue over her skin.

Aubrey’s hand finally found something wrapped in plastic and let it fall next to Stacie. She scratched the top of Stacie’s head gently. “You can put me down now.”

Aubrey let go of the branch as Stacie let go of her legs, dropping gracefully in front of her. She kneeled down and picked up the plastic cylinder she’d dropped. Stacie looked at it curiously as Aubrey uncapped the top and spilled the contents on Stacie’s hands. There were a couple of coins, a button, and a pencil. Aubrey pulled out a rolled up paper from the inside and grabbed the pencil from Stacie’s hand. “What are you writing?”

“Just the date and my geocaching name.” Aubrey held the paper out to her. “Do you wanna sign the log? You can use any name.”

“Sure!” She dropped the coins and the button back in the tube and grabbed the paper from Aubrey’s hand. “Why are there coins and buttons?”

“Some people leave things in them. It’s sort of like signing the log but like leaving a little bit of you in there.” She watched as Stacie scribbled something and quickly rolled the paper again. Aubrey tried to take it from her but she put it in the tube again. “What did you write?”

“Just my name and the date!” Aubrey tilted her head and held out her hand.

Stacie huffed and took out the rolled up paper from the tube, handing it to Aubrey. Beside their names she had added a little heart with the words first kiss inside it. Aubrey smiled and threw her arms around her. “You’re the cutest.”

“Yeah? Well this cutie wants to go back, shower, maybe take a nap, and have sex with her hot new girl.”

“That sounds like a great plan.” Aubrey pecked her lips and put everything back in the tube before standing on her toes and sliding it back into the hole in the tree. She looked at Stacie mischievously. “Last one back doesn’t get any hot water.”

Aubrey took off quickly down the hill and Stacie struggled to follow. “Hey! Not fair!” Stacie shrugged and slowed down. She could always jump in the shower with Aubrey and share her hot water.

 


	6. Pretty in Pink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Do you think you could do one where Stacie dyes her hair an unnatural color? I would just like to see how Aubrey would react to that. (pre-established Staubrey if you can).

“Stace, are you sure about this?” Beca leaned on the door frame with a smirk while Stacie shook the bottle with hair dye.

“It washes off in a couple of weeks, I just wanna see how it looks.” She held out her hand. “Hand me the box.”

Beca looked at the picture of the girl with neon pink hair on the front of the box with a raised eyebrow and handed it to her. “I just think you should talk this over with Aubrey before you decide to dye your hair pink, however not permanent it may be.”

Stacie looked up from rereading the instructions on the box and glared at Beca. “She’s my girlfriend, not my mom. I don’t have to ask her for permission.”

Beca scoffed. “Whatever man, it’s your funeral.”

Beca watched as Stacie started pouring the dye on herself then shook her head and walked out, closing the bathroom door and made her way downstairs. She went into the kitchen to grab something to eat when she heard hushed voices in the living room. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and opened the door, pausing when she saw Aubrey and Chloe on the couch.

“...really nervous about it, Chlo.”

“Does Stacie know?”

Beca started walking back into the kitchen, not wanting to intrude or eavesdrop.

“No, I haven’t told her yet.”

One of the floorboards creaked under Beca’s foot and both girls turned to her. Beca smiled sheepishly and waved. “Hi, Aubrey. I didn’t know you were here.” Aubrey returned the wave. Beca stood on the doorway awkwardly for a few seconds. “I’ll leave you guys to it then.”

Beca waved again and went back into the kitchen, giving out a relieved sigh that they hadn’t asked if she’d heard anything. She wondered what Aubrey could be nervous about while she made a sandwich and poured herself a glass of juice. Whatever it was, it would probably be forgotten when she saw Stacie’s new pink her.

She sat down to eat her sandwich. She was almost done when Chloe came into the kitchen. Beca looked up at her and smiled. The redhead walked around to where she was sitting and gave her a one armed hug. Beca leaned into the embrace. “What was that about?”

“Aubrey’s nervous because her parents just got into town and they want to meet Stacie.”

Beca stopped mid-bite. “Oh shit.”

She dropped what was left of her sandwich and ran out of the kitchen and up to Stacie’s room. She almost knocked Aubrey over on her way up the stairs and ran to the bathroom. She pounded on the door. “Stacie, you need to stop right now!” She knocked on the door several more times. “Stacie, for fuck’s sake-”

The door opened and Stacie walked out combing her wet hair. “Calm the fuck down, I already did it.”

“Did what?” Aubrey walked into the room, her eyes bulging out as she noticed Stacie’s hair. “Stacie, baby, why does your hair look pink?”

Stacie swallowed. Aubrey was using the tone she only used when she was trying to control herself from either puking all over the place or tearing the head off the person in front of her. Beca had heard this a bunch of times directed at her and she silently moved away from Stacie and out of the room.

When Beca closed the door behind her, Stacie smiled sweetly and walked towards Aubrey. “Do you like it? I thought I’d try something different.” She pulled a strand of her hair in front of her face and looked at it. “It’s gonna look better when it’s dry.”

Aubrey nodded. Her lips so tightly closed her cheeks started hurting, but she was afraid of what she might say if she opened her mouth. If she was being honest, she thought Stacie looked hot and, if this had happened any other time, she would have probably jumped her the second she saw her. But she’d done this now, with no warning, and they were supposed to meet her parents for dinner in less than an hour.

“Bree, please say something.” Stacie bit her lip worriedly. “It washes off in a couple of weeks.”

Aubrey took a deep breath. She knew this wasn’t Stacie’s fault, she didn’t know this was happening, so she really didn’t have a reason to be mad at her. She opened her mouth. “We’re meeting my parents for dinner at six.”

Stacie smiled and chuckled. “You’re joking right? I swear it washes off, babe.”

Aubrey shook her head. “My parents called me a couple of hours ago to tell me they just got into town. They want to meet you so I told them we’d have dinner with them.”

Stacie’s eyes widened. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Stacie ran her hands through her hair and started pacing. “Maybe if I wash it again it won’t be so pink, or I can wear a hat, or I can go get brown dye right now.”

She put on her shoes and walked to the door, opening it and then walking back to Aubrey. “Tell them I’m not feeling well and that I’ll meet you later”

Aubrey grabbed her arms and stopped her from moving. “It’s too late to fix it.” She sighed and shook her head. “It’s gonna be fine. We’ll just tell them it’s for a Bellas thing.”

“I’m really sorry, Bree. I wouldn’t have done it if I’d known they’d be here.” Stacie bit her lip and her eyes were shiny when she looked up at Aubrey. “I really want them to like me.”

Aubrey cupped her cheeks and pecked her lips. “It’s going to be okay. Yes, they might think it’s a little weird at first, but once they get to know you they’re gonna forget about your pink hair and absolutely adore you, just like I do.”

Stacie sniffled. “You think so?”

“I know so.” Aubrey kissed her fully and wrapped her arms around her. “Besides, I think it looks really hot.”

Stacie smiled. “You do?” Aubrey nodded and pushed Stacie back. “How much time did you say we had?”

Aubrey smirked and let Stacie pull her down with her onto her bed, their legs tangled together and their hands roaming over each other’s bodies.

“She lost a bet and I made her- Holy shit, can’t you people close the door if you’re gonna have sex?” They looked up to find Beca blushing furiously, hiding her face behind her hands.

Aubrey laughed and Stacie smiled. “Aw, Becs, you were gonna take the fall for my pink hair? That’s so sweet but we’re good.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” She turned around and stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Aubrey smiled down at Stacie. “We should go.” Stacie looked worried again and Aubrey ran her thumb over her forehead soothingly. She kissed her softly. “It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Stacie nodded. “Okay.” She looked up at Aubrey and smiled. “Let’s go.”


	7. Protecting the Legacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Stacie is being overprotective of Legacy Emily and Aubrey gets a little jealous.

A book flew by Stacie as she walked into the rehearsal room.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She heard Emily muttering inside and arched an eyebrow. She half hid behind the bleachers and peeked inside. Emily was sitting on the floor with her hands in her face.

"Is it safe to come out or do you have more books you'd like to throw at me?"

Emily looked up startled and blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was here yet."

Stacie smirked. "It's okay." She picked up the book from the floor and handed it back to Emily. "What did Calculus do to you?"

Emily pouted up at her. "It's so hard and I have a test on Monday."

Stacie crouched down and looked at the problem set Emily had been working on. "Do you want me to help you?"

Emily smiled hopefully up at her. "Would you? I'm so lost."

"Sure, Em. We can go to the house after rehearsal and we'll make a study plan for the weekend."

The rest of the girls started arriving and Emily put her things away and stood up. When she turned around, she threw her arms around Stacie. "Thanks Stace!"

Stacie was a bit surprised but she awkwardly returned the hug. "No problem."

* * *

Emily dropped her head on the book sitting on Stacie's desk and whimpered. "Can we stop? My brain stopped working a while ago."

Stacie looked at her over the book she was reading. She had explained the first unit in Emily's book to her and the younger girl had been working on the practice problems for a while. She'd gotten through a lot of them with little need of additional help so Stacie had moved to her bed to read while she waited for her to finish. "Did you check your answers?"

"Yes, I only had a couple wrong and I know why they're wrong." Emily stood up from the desk and jumped on Stacie's bed. "I'm tired and I have to walk back to my dorm."

Stacie closed her book and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you gotta finish those problems early tomorrow and come back so we can go over the next unit."

Emily nodded seriously. "I promise."

Stacie turned to face Emily. "Are you less stressed now?"

Emily nodded. "I think I get it now. You're way better than my professor."

Stacie chuckled and tapped her on the arm with her book. "I should charge you."

The door to her room opened and Chloe came in. "Hey, Em, still here?"

Aubrey came in behind Chloe carrying a duffel bag. Stacie's eyes widened when she saw Aubrey come in and she immediately jumped off her bed. "Aubrey! I didn't know you were coming."

Aubrey tried to smile at her but it looked more like a grimace. "Yes, it was a last minute thing." She looked at Emily who had just stood up from Stacie's bed and nodded. "Emily."

Emily waved awkwardly at her. She was a bit afraid of her since the retreat. "Hey." They stood there looking at each other. Emily swung on her feet with her hands behind her back. "I was just leaving... It was nice seeing you Aubrey."

Emily put her books in her bag. Stacie hurried to her side while Aubrey and Chloe went to Chloe's side of the room. "I'll walk you out."

Aubrey sat down on Chloe's bed and looked at her feet while Chloe went to her dresser to pull out her pajamas. She continued the conversation they were having before they came into the room but Aubrey wasn't listening. She couldn't stop thinking about Stacie and Emily on Stacie's bed. She felt a dull ache in the pit of her stomach and frowned. "Are Emily and Stacie a thing?"

Chloe stopped mid sentence and looked at Aubrey deciding if she was being serious before bursting out laughing. "Of course not, Emily's a baby."

"It's the same age difference as me and Stacie, or you and Beca." Aubrey deadpanned.

Chloe stopped laughing and knit her eyebrows. "Right. Well I can almost guarantee nothing's going on there, don't worry." She finished changing and turned back to Aubrey with a thoughtful look. "Wait, why do you care?"

Aubrey's eyes widened before she could control her features and appear neutral. "No reason. I just thought it was weird, you know, Emily here in Stacie's bed."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at her. She'd known Aubrey had always liked Stacie but she never really thought anything of it until now. She didn't even think she and Stacie had stayed in contact after she'd left Barden except for the few times Aubrey attended one of their performances and at the retreat. "Are you jealous?"

Aubrey scoffed and bent down to get her pajamas out of her duffel bag to try to hide her blush. "Of course not. Why would I be jealous? I just… I just don't think it's the best idea with worlds coming up."

"Right." Chloe looked at her suspiciously but didn't push it.

Aubrey took her clothes and headed for the door. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

* * *

Stacie caught the stress ball she'd been throwing up at the ceiling. Chloe and Aubrey had been gone when she woke up in the morning and she'd been lying in bed all day. She knew Aubrey wasn't there to see her but she hadn't expected her to disappear even before they had a chance to talk. They hadn't seen each other since the retreat and she missed her.

Stacie threw the ball again but missed the catch when a knock on the door distracted her. The ball hit her face and fell to the floor, rolling towards the door. Stacie sighed and sat up. "Come in."

Emily walked in, dropping her bag on the floor and sitting down on Stacie's desk. She started taking out her book and notebook. "I finished the first unit problems and I started reading the second one, I have some questions about…"

Emily noticed Stacie had gone back to staring at the ceiling. "I can come back later if you want."

"I'm listening." She sat up and tried to smooth her hair. "What are your questions?"

Emily raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you okay? You look a bit weird. I can wait if you want to shower… or something."

Stacie looked down. She'd forgotten she was still wearing her sleeping clothes, she wasn't even sure what time it was. Maybe Aubrey was back. "Did you see Chloe when you came in?"

Emily frowned. "I… No, Beca opened the door and I came straight up. Do you want me to text her and ask where she is?"

Stacie waved her hands in front of her and stood up. "No, it's fine. I was just wondering if Aubrey was here." Emily noticed Stacie's frown when she said Aubrey's name and narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm gonna shower real quick, keep reading."

* * *

Aubrey set the salad bowl in the middle of the table and looked around for Stacie but she wasn't there yet. Beca came into the dining room and gasped. "You guys made dinner?"

Chloe came out of the kitchen carrying bread. "I thought it would be nice to have dinner together since Aubrey's here." She gave the bread basket to her and pushed her towards the table. She walked to the stairs and yelled. "Stace, Em, dinner's ready!"

Aubrey looked up and watched with a frown as Stacie and Emily made their way down the stairs together talking about something. Emily smiled and hugged Stacie when they got to the bottom of the stairs.

Aubrey clenched her knife in her hand. Her frown deepened when Stacie returned the hug and kept her arm around her shoulders as they walked to the table. She felt Chloe's hand around hers. "Drop the knife, Bree. Don't hurt Legacy."

Aubrey blushed and looked down, dropping the knife with a clatter.

"This looks good." Stacie let Emily go and walked around to sit next to Aubrey. Aubrey gave her a tight lipped smile and tried to ignore the familiar fluttering in her stomach whenever Stacie was this close to her. Stacie brushed her hand with her pinky. "You disappeared all day, where did you go?"

Aubrey moved her hand away. "We went shopping."

Stacie frowned, Aubrey had never pulled away from her. She looked at her but she had turned to talk to Chloe. Stacie angrily stabbed her lettuce with her fork and waited for Aubrey to turn back around, but every time Stacie tried to talk to her she would give her a short answer and turn away. Whenever she touched her she would move.

Stacie didn't get what she had done to Aubrey. She had always been nice to her, at least nicer than she was to the rest of the girls. Stacie knew Aubrey was at least attracted to her, she had seen the way she looked at her. Even though she'd never gone further than light flirting, she'd gone as far as giving her friendly hugs several times, although calling them friendly was a bit of a stretch. She'd been close to crossing the line and kissing her more than once but she always stopped herself. Aubrey had always responded positively to everything, albeit a bit hesitant, but never like this.

"... Legacy isn't very bright." Fat Amy stage whispered and chuckled. Emily looked down and kept eating, she'd learned that ignoring Amy was the best course of action.

Stacie looked up and glared at her. "Dude, stop attacking Emily all the time."

"I'm just having a laugh, Stace. Don't be such a bore." Amy reached out and pulled Emily towards her. "You don't mind, do you, Legacy?"

Emily gave her a halfhearted smile. "Of course she does, no one likes being called stupid." Stacie added.

Fat Amy raised her hands apologetically. "Geez, fine. I'm sorry, Legacy."

Stacie felt Aubrey stiffen next to her. Before she could turn and ask her what was wrong, Aubrey excused herself to get the dessert from the kitchen.

Stacie offered to help with clean up with Beca and Jessica. After they were done, she went back to her room, still trying to figure out what had happened with Aubrey. She stopped when she opened the door and found Aubrey sitting n Chloe's bed looking up at her. "Bree."

Aubrey gave her a sad smile. "Hey, where's Emily?"

Stacie frowned confused. "I don't know, I guess she went back home."

"Oh." Aubrey looked down.

Stacie stepped into the room and closed the door. "Bree, what's going on? You've barely looked at me since you got here. I thought we…"

Aubrey looked at her when she didn't finish her sentence, she had moved to sit on her bed across the room. Aubrey wanted to move to sit next to her but she remembered walking in on her and Emily there last night and she stayed where she was. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

Stacie looked at Aubrey, holding her gaze and trying to figure out if Aubrey was lying. Stacie sighed and shook her head. "Okay, I'll get out of your hair then."

Stacie started walking out. Aubrey stood up and grabbed her wrist. "Wait, don't." Stacie looked down at Aubrey's hand. "I've missed you."

Stacie smiled and turned around, taking a step closer to Aubrey. "I've missed you too."

Aubrey felt her stomach flip as Stacie moved to take her hand and lace their fingers, her smile widening as the blonde made no move to take her hand back. Stacie pulled her closer, her free hand moving up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. Her fingers moved down her neck and stopped on her shoulder, her touch gaining confidence with each passing second.

"Stace…" Stacie moved closer still, her eyes moving down to look at Aubrey's lips. "What about Emily?"

Stacie looked back at Aubrey's eyes and smirked as she finally understood what had happened. "I was helping her with Calculus, nothing's going on." She chuckled softly and cupped her cheek. "Were you jealous?"

Aubrey blushed and nodded. "Well I did find her in your bed last night."

Stacie dropped Aubrey's hand and wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling her against herself. "On my bed, and we were just talking. You're my only Bella crush."

"You have a crush on me?" Aubrey bit her lip and smiled up at her.

"I thought it was pretty obvious since I've been about to kiss you ever since you stopped me from walking out." Stacie leaned closer, her nose bumping against Aubrey's.

"Then why haven't you?"

Stacie smirked and closed the distance between their lips. Aubrey's hands moved up to cup her cheeks, her thumbs caressing her jaw softly. She could feel Stacie's racing heart against her own and she smiled, moving her tongue over Stacie's bottom lip. Stacie moaned and pushed her back, the hand on her back moving under her shirt.

Aubrey pulled back for breath when she felt her legs hit the back of Stacie's bed. Stacie pushed her down and recaptured her lips, laying on top of her with her legs on either side of her hips. Aubrey moved her hands to her back and under her shirt, tracing her spine lightly as their tongues moved against each other.

They were so focused on each other that they didn't hear the door opening. "Oh my god!"

Aubrey froze and Stacie looked up and smiled at Chloe. Emily pushed Chloe to the side to see what was happening and smiled at Stacie. "I knew something was going on! You've been acting weird all day."

Aubrey unfroze and turned Stacie's head so she would look at her. "You have? Why?"

Stacie shrugged. "You left before I woke up and I wanted to see you."

"Aww!" Chloe and Emily said with a smile.

Stacie glared at them. "Do you mind? We were kind of in the middle of something."

"Oh sure." Chloe started walking back.

"I just came to pick up my stuff." Emily grabbed her book bag and walked behind Chloe. "Thanks for everything, Stace!"

Stacie looked down at Aubrey. "Nope, thank you, Em."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was my first time writing Emily so I hope it didn't suck too much.


	8. Chloe's Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Chloe also has a massive crush on Stacie, but it's still staubrey endgame.

Aubrey quirked her eyebrow, Chloe had been standing by the copier for a while now. She walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Chloe yelped and turned around. She pulled Aubrey behind a column and shushed her, looking around it while Aubrey looked at her confused. "Chloe what-" Chloe lifted her finger and shushed her again, making Aubrey frown and cross her arms.

When Chloe was satisfied no one was paying attention to them she turned back to Aubrey. "I was looking at the new graphic designer, she's ridiculously hot."

"There's a new graphic designer? I hope she's better than Bumper, my last article looked like someone threw up on the page."

"Yes, but more importantly, she looks like a supermodel. Do you think she's straight?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Chlo, I haven't met her. I didn't even know she existed two seconds ago."

"Right." Chloe looked around again. "Do you think we should go introduce ourselves? How do I look?"

"I'm going back to work, we have deadlines." Aubrey walked out from behind the column and ran into someone.

"Whoa!" Aubrey stumbled backwards but a pair of hands around her waist stabilized her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Aubrey looked up at the girl still holding her and felt her heart speed up.

The girl smiled down at her. She took an awkward step back, her hands lingering on Aubrey's waist a second longer than necessary. "I'm Stacie, I just started at graphic design."

"Oh." Aubrey's smile wavered for a second. She held out her hand for Stacie to shake. "I'm Aubrey, I'm one of the writers."

Stacie shook her hand. Someone called Stacie's name from the other side of the office and Stacie smiled sheepishly. "I gotta go. It was nice to meet you, Aubrey."

As soon as Stacie was gone, Chloe appeared beside Aubrey and shook her excitedly. "Oh my god you talked to her! What's she like? Does she sound as hot as she looks?"

"I guess? She just introduced herself, I don't know!" Aubrey started walking towards her desk again. "I have things to do, Chlo."

* * *

Aubrey hung up and dropped her head on her desk with a groan. She'd been trying to find one of her sources to finish her article and submit it before her deadline. She'd finally reached his assistant and found out he was on a plane and wouldn't be available for two hours. There was nothing she could do until she talked to him, the rest of her article was ready, but her editor had insisted she include a direct quote from her source.

"Hey." Aubrey's head shot up from her desk. Stacie was standing in front of her with an amused expression on her face.

It had been two weeks since Stacie had started working at the magazine, but Aubrey hadn't talked to her since they met. She got daily updates from Chloe, mostly about how hot she looked or an excited recount of their latest conversation. Aubrey hadn't exactly been avoiding Stacie, but she thought it was for the best considering Chloe's crush. Especially with how she had reacted to her when they had met.

Aubrey smiled up Stacie. "Hi, Stacie."

Stacie swung on her feet. "So, apparently I'm on late submissions duty since I'm new."

"Oh." Aubrey frowned. "You're waiting for me to turn in my article?"

"Yeah…" Stacie stared at her feet for a second and then looked up at Aubrey worriedly. "I'm not trying to pressure you or anything."

Aubrey chuckled. "It's okay, Stacie. I'm almost done but…" She bit her lip and looked up at her apologetically. "I still have to wait two hours for a quote."

"Oh, so you're free until then?" Aubrey nodded. "Do you want to eat something? We can order Chinese."

Aubrey twisted her lower lip in thought. She hadn't had anything since lunch and Chloe wouldn't get mad at her if she just had dinner with Stacie. "Sure, Chinese sounds great."

Stacie smiled. "Great! I'll bring over a menu."

* * *

They were both sitting on the floor with their backs to Aubrey's desk. Aubrey had pulled down the phone and set it next to them in case it rang. Dinner had been great, Aubrey had thought it would be awkward but Stacie had been really fun to talk to.

Stacie moved the empty food containers to the side and grabbed the fortune cookies. She lifted one in each hand and offered them to Aubrey. "Which one do you want?" Aubrey reached out for the one on the right but Stacie moved her hand away. "Are you sure? Your whole future may depend on it."

Aubrey laughed and rolled her eyes. "Give me my cookie."

"Fine, don't take your fate seriously." Stacie shrugged and handed her the cookie.

Aubrey cracked the cookie open with a smirk. "Your shoes will make you happy today… What?"

Stacie bent forward laughing. "See, that's what happens when you don't take it seriously."

Aubrey elbowed her. "What does yours say?"

Stacie opened it and cleared her throat. "A cute blonde will agree to date you today."

"Really? That's what it says?" Stacie nodded.

Aubrey tried to take the little paper out from her hand but Stacie held it up, ending up half leaning on Stacie with their faces really close and her hand on Stacie's wrist. Stacie looked at Aubrey's lips and smirked. "So, do you wanna go out with me?"

"Umm." Aubrey's eyes roamed over Stacie's face. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not? I'm hot, you're hot, this was fun. We could have dinner outside of work." She lowered her hand and waved the paper from the fortune cookie. "I already know you'll say yes."

Aubrey bit her lip. "Okay."

"Yeah?" Aubrey nodded. Stacie looked back at her lips and leaned forward. Her nose brushed Aubrey's and she closed her eyes. Aubrey's hand moved from Stacie's wrist up her arm, their lips barely apart when the phone rang loudly making them jump apart.

"That's my source."

"I'll clean this up." Stacie nodded and turned to pick up the empty food containers. "Dinner on Friday?"

Aubrey nodded. "Don't tell people."

"I won't"

* * *

Aubrey saw an email notification popup, smiling when she opened it and saw it was from Stacie. She looked around before standing up and walking to the bathroom. As soon as she went through the door she was pulled to the side. "Hey babe, I've missed you."

Aubrey smiled and pulled Stacie down for a kiss. "You saw me this morning."

"Yeah, but then we came here and I had to act like I don't even talk to you." Stacie pouted and Aubrey kissed her again.

"I know it sucks, I'm sorry. I just have to tell Chloe and then we can tell people." She kissed down her jaw. "I just need to find the right way to do it without hurting her."

"She'll be happy you got the office hottie. It's been a month, she won't care about her crush when she realizes how much I like you."

Aubrey pulled back and smiled shily at her. "How much do you like me?"

Stacie pushed her against the wall. "A lot."

Stacie cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly, her tongue sweeping over Aubrey's lower lip. Aubrey whimpered and pulled Stacie closer, burying her hands in her hair and making her deepen the kiss. She moved a hand down to Stacie's chest and pushed her back. "I like you a lot too."

"Aww!" They both turned around towards the stall where the voice came from.

Stacie pressed her index finger to her mouth and walked to the door. "We should get back to work."

Stacie opened and closed the door loudly, tiptoeing back to Aubrey. The stall opened and Chloe came out. "You were eavesdropping?"

Chloe yelped and turned to face them. She recovered fast and frowned. "I was here and you came in and she called you babe and I didn't know what to do so I hid! And you have no right to be mad when you've been dating Stacie in secret!"

Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey and leaned her chin on her shoulder. "She has a point, baby."

"Aww." Chloe smiled at Stacie.

Aubrey shrugged Stacie off and stepped away from her. "I didn't tell you because I thought you'd be mad. You've done nothing but talk about how hot she is for weeks."

"Which is why I would have understood why you liked her!" Chloe rolled her eyes. "I heard what you said, you're super cute, I'm not mad."

"Really?" Chloe nodded and Aubrey walked towards her. "We stayed late one day and we talked and she asked me out and she did this cute thing with a cookie and, I mean, you've seen her, I couldn't say no."

"I totes get it, Bree. I mean, I'm mad you didn't tell me but it was just a stupid crush." Chloe hugged Aubrey and winked at Stacie over her shoulder.

"So can we have lunch together now that Chloe knows?"

Chloe grabbed Aubrey's hand and pulled her to the door. "No, she's having lunch with me and she's going to tell me everything. I have a lot to catch up on."


	9. I Love You More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Staubrey having a super cutesy argument. Not even an argument, about who loves who more like "no I love you more"

Aubrey opened the door to the Bellas' house and toed off her shoes, placing them neatly next to the others piled up by the door. She could hear the sound of the TV coming from the living room. She decided to check there first and smiled when she saw the familiar silhouette of her girlfriend on the couch. "Hey, babe."

Stacie immediately straightened up and turned around, leaning over the back of the couch and pulling Aubrey by the waist. Aubrey gave a little surprised yelp which was silenced by Stacie's lips.

Aubrey dropped her purse and moved her hands up to frame Stacie's face, tilting her head and deepening the kiss. She felt Stacie smiling against her lips briefly before she pushed her tongue into her mouth. Aubrey moved one of her hands to tangle in Stacie's hair pulling gently.

"Get a room!" Beca threw a cushion at Stacie's back.

Aubrey broke the kiss with a smile. "Sorry, Beca, I didn't see you were here too."

Stacie kept her hands on Aubrey's lower back not letting her step back. "How did your interview go?" They were so close that Aubrey felt Stacie's lips moving against hers when she spoke.

"I think it went well." Aubrey twirled a strand of Stacie's hair in her fingers. She couldn't resist and pressed few chaste kisses on her lips, mindful of Beca on the other side of the room.

Stacie's hands moved down from Aubrey's back to the back of her legs, finding the hem of her skirt and slipping under it. "I'm sure you were amazing."

Stacie buried her face in Aubrey's neck, her hands moving higher under her skirt and pressing her tighter against the couch. Aubrey sucked in a breath loudly when she felt Stacie's fingers moving over the inside of her thighs and biting down on her neck.

Beca turned towards them regretting it immediately. "Guys, seriously! You're in a common room, go grope each other somewhere else."

Aubrey chuckled and took a step back. "I'm gonna go change and get food, we can finish this later." Stacie pouted up at her and Aubrey shook her head and leaned down to kiss her. "I love you."

Stacie stared at Aubrey as she walked away, yelling when the blonde was almost out of the room. "I love you more!"

Aubrey turned back and rolled her eyes. "That's so not true."

Stacie smiled. "Oh, I totally love you more."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes for a second and then walked back to the couch. "You really think you love me more?"

Stacie smirked. She knew Aubrey wouldn't back down. "I know I love you more."

"Well, you're wrong." Aubrey tapped Stacie's nose.

Stacie feigned indignation. "I'm not! I love you more."

"I love you more." Aubrey leaned down brushing her nose against Stacie's.

"Oh god, this is worse. Go back to the groping." Beca groaned behind them.

Stacie pecked Aubrey's lips and turned back towards the TV, lying down on the couch. "I know I'm right. Go change."

Aubrey stood behind the couch unsure about what she was supposed to do. She knew this was a ridiculous argument and that it didn't really matter if Stacie loved her more, but she wasn't used to just letting someone else have the last word.

She walked around to the front of the couch and stood between Stacie and the TV with her arms crossed. Stacie looked up at her with the most innocent look she could muster. "What's up, baby?" Aubrey lifted her leg onto the couch and straddled Stacie slowly.

"Nice." Stacie smiled cheekily up at her and turned around to lie on her back.

"What happened to the no sex in the living room rule? Also, there should be a no sex in front of Beca rule."

Aubrey sat back on Stacie's thighs and looked back at Beca. "We're not having sex. You should ask Chloe to show you what sex looks like."

"Yeah, and you would immediately know if we were having sex. Aubrey says my name a lot." Stacie winked at Beca.

"Gross."

Aubrey turned her attention back to Stacie. She placed her hands on her ribs, softly running her thumbs up and down. Stacie sighed contentedly and ran her hands up Aubrey's legs. Aubrey leaned forward, her breasts pressing up against the front of her shirt making Stacie look down and lick her lips. Aubrey used one of her hands to tilt Stacie's head up so she'd look at her. "Say I love you more."

The was a small warning in the tone Aubrey used and Stacie thought about conceding but this was way more fun. "Never."

Aubrey moved her hand slowly up Stacie's ribs. "Last chance to admit it."

Stacie just shook her head. At that, Aubrey's hands quickly shifted from caressing to tickling, Stacie's position under the blonde making it really hard for her to fight her off or retaliate. "No, Bree! stop!"

Beca chuckled at how ridiculous they were being and rolled her eyes.

Aubrey continued tickling Stacie mercilessly until Stacie managed to grab her wrists. "Say it!"

The commotion had brought Chloe into the living room and she took a seat next to Beca. "What's happening? Is it dirty?"

Beca shook her head. "They're fighting over who loves the other more."

"Oh, Stacie totes loves her more." Chloe said with a definite nod.

"Excuse me?"

"See!" Aubrey and Stacie yelled at the same time. Stacie took advantage of Aubrey's temporary distraction to sit up, keeping the blonde on top of her.

Beca snorted. "Aubrey obviously loves her more."

"What?" Stacie glared at Beca. Aubrey straightened up and gave her a smug smile.

"Stacie saw her projectile vomit and didn't break up with her."

"Aubrey stopped being mean to me for Stacie."

"Stacie's always doing cute little things for Aubrey."

"Have you seen how Aubrey looks at her?"

"Stacie looks at her like that too!"

Aubrey and Stacie looked at each other with confused looks while Beca and Chloe continued arguing on the other couch. Stacie shrugged. "Do you think they'll notice if we leave?"

Aubrey turned to look at them, Chloe was counting off things in her hand and saying something about the riff-off. "Probably not. Wanna go to our room and settle this?"

Stacie smiled widely. "Definitely." Stacie slapped Aubrey's butt when she got off her lap. "Get food, you'll need the energy."

Chloe and Beca's arguing didn't die down until they were inside their room with the door closed.


	10. Sleep

Stacie felt a kick on her shin for the third time in a minute and rolled to her back. She didn't get why they all had to sleep on the living room floor when there were enough beds and couches for at least half of them. She didn't get why they had to have a sleepover at all, it was stupid. They could have all gone back to their places instead but Chloe had the brilliant idea of having a sleepover in their living room and no one says no to Chloe.

Lilly kicked Stacie again and she rolled away as far as she could. She thought about picking up her pillow and going into the kitchen to sleep, or maybe into Aubrey's room. But they had been warned that their co-captains' rooms were strictly off-limits.

She scooted closer to the girl next to her, turning around and barely making out her profile in the dark. She smiled and snuggled closer, her face so close to Aubrey's that she could see a strand of loose blonde hair moving every time she exhaled.

She felt the her stir and she froze. "Why are you staring at me?"

Stacie could barely understand her sleepy mumble but she smiled when Aubrey turned to face her and moved even closer to her. "I can't sleep, Lilly keeps kicking me."

Aubrey's arm draped over her waist and pulled her closer. She rested her head on Stacie's shoulder and tangled their legs together. "Well tell her to stop, I want to sleep and I can't if you're staring at me."

Stacie didn't move. She didn't understand what was happening, why Aubrey was suddenly clinging to her like a drunk octopus. "Okay."

"Thank you." Aubrey nuzzled her neck and gave her a squeeze before relaxing again.

Stacie stayed frozen until she was sure Aubrey was asleep again. She could feel her steady breaths on her neck and her hand hung limply on her back. She slowly moved her arm and placed her hand on Aubrey's hip.

She tried to look down but her nose bumped the top of Aubrey's head burying in her hair. She couldn't help taking a deep breath and reveling in the scent of Aubrey's shampoo, it smelled like lavender and vanilla and something else she couldn't identify.

She sighed and rested her cheek on top of Aubrey's head, closing her eyes and finally falling asleep.

* * *

She wasn't really awake yet but she could hear the faint sound of voices murmuring. She felt warm and comfortable and she wasn't ready to fully wake up just yet so she leaned into the warmth and tightened her arms around it.

It seemed that whoever was providing the warmth had the same idea because she felt a hand moving up her back and pulling her closer.

"Maybe we should wake them up."

Stacie tried to remain asleep but the voices were louder now.

"No, leave them. They look cute."

"Do you think they did it on purpose?"

Stacie blinked her eyes open and turned her head towards the voices. Beca, Cynthia Rose, and Jessica were standing looking down at her. She frowned confused as to why she was on the floor being observed by them when she remembered the warm body she was mostly on top of.

She lifted herself up slightly and looked down at the sleeping blonde. She smiled and looked back at the three girls. "Are you gonna stand there and stare at us all morning?"

They all looked confused and Beca kept opening and closing her mouth as if trying to decide what to ask first.

Stacie's voice must have woken up Aubrey because she groaned softly and opened her eyes, looking up at Stacie with a slightly furrowed brow.

Stacie turned back to her and smiled widely. "Morning."

"What is happening?" Beca threw her arms up.

Chloe sat up from her spot on the floor. "Aubrey is a cuddly drunk."

The other girls exchanged confused looks but accepted the redhead's explanation when Aubrey didn't refute it.

Stacie was still hovering over Aubrey and arched an eyebrow at her, lowering her voice so the other girls wouldn't hear. "You barely drank last night, you weren't drunk."

Aubrey shrugged and put her hand on her shoulder pulling herself up to whisper in her ear. "You'll never know." She pushed her to the side and stood up. "Who wants pancakes?"


	11. Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jus drein jus daun.

You know it's a bad idea the moment the thought forms in your head. You know it won't change anything, that she will leave when it's over and you will feel empty again. Maybe emptier.

But you miss it, you miss the fire between you that burned brighter than anything else, that you've tried to find with other people but have failed every time. And if you're being honest with yourself, you miss her.

You know you should hate her, she's the one who left, the one who inadvertently took something from you that you haven't been able to recover. But you let her walk away. You never tried to stop her or gave her a reason to stay. You were there when she needed you and never asked for more.

But you always wanted more of her, of your moments together. You wanted to go on dates and be able to hold her hand in public, take her to meet your friends. But you never asked and she never offered. She was the one who left but she was never yours so you can't hate her.

You feel yourself gravitating slowly towards her. Her pull is almost magnetic but you know it's more than that. She's a singularity, a tear in the fabric of the universe that will swallow you whole.

She looks up and you're too close for her to pretend she didn't see you. The side of her mouth quirks up and she nods minutely and you hate yourself because you feel your heart skip a beat and your stomach flip.

She looks amazing. Her blonde hair is pulled to the side, cascading over one of her shoulders and leaving the other exposed. She's wearing a long red strapless dress with a slit on the side that goes up to mid thigh and her green eyes seem to shine brighter than you remember in the soft light of the chandelier. You look at her hands around the champagne glass and feel relief wash over you when you don't see a ring.

You wait. You know she won't talk to you if there's other people around so you lean on the bar nursing your drink, your eyes never leaving her. After a while she looks around the room and you know she's looking for you. Her eyes stop briefly when they get to you and you see her hands shift nervously on the stem of her glass.

She excuses herself from her group and walks to the exit. Leaving your drink on the bartop you follow her out of the room and into the hallway leading back into the hotel. She doesn't turn to see if you're following her but you've done this enough times to know she knows you're there. You don't know how long you walk or where she's leading you but you don't care. You would follow her anywhere, no questions asked.

You catch up to her as she turns a corner and you grab her wrist, turning her around and pinning her against the wall. Releasing her wrist, you place your hands on either side of her head and lean forward until you feel the side of your nose touching hers. You stop and close your eyes taking a deep breath through your mouth and it feels like the first real breath you've taken since she left.

You feel her hands on your waist and you wonder if she's gonna push you away but her fingers trace the seam of your dress and splay against your ribs. You look up and her eyes meet yours with a challenging glint, daring you to move closer. But you want her to kiss you, you want her to be the one who surrenders to you this one time even though you both know she's in charge.

You move one of your hands from the wall to her exposed shoulder, running your index finger lighty over her collarbone. You feel her exhale a ragged breath against your lips as your thumb brushes over the hollow of her throat and her fingers twitch against you.

She crashes her lips against yours in a searing kiss and you respond in kind, your hand moving up to cup her neck. She tastes like champagne and something that is uniquely her and it makes your knees weak. You feel her hands clutching your dress and keeping you close as if she's afraid you'll vanish if she lets go. You want to laugh at the irony but instead you kiss her harder.

Her hands move to your shoulders and she pushes you back, but before you can ask her what's wrong she's taken your hand in hers and she's leading you down the hallway again. She stops in front of a door and drops your hand to take out a key card from her clutch, opening the door and walking in.

You hesitate at the door. You can still walk away but the kiss reminded you of how much you've needed this, needed her. She owns you and there's nothing you can do about it.

You walk inside and she's standing in front of the dresser removing her necklace as if she hadn't been waiting for you, as if it had made no difference if you walked in or not. You step up behind her and press a kiss to her shoulder, holding her hips and looking at her through the reflection in the mirror in front of you. You feel her shift her weight against you but that's all the acknowledgement she gives you as she continues to remove the rest of her jewelry.

Your lips move up, trailing kisses towards her neck and she tilts her head to accommodate you, her eyes fluttering closed for the briefest of moments. Her earrings clink as she puts them on the dresser and you bite down softly on her neck.

She moans and her hands move to rest on top of yours on her hips, lacing your fingers and pulling them towards her stomach making you take a step closer. You can feel her pulse racing against your lips and you see her chest flushing and you feel a sense of victory at the knowledge that you're the reason for that.

You take a step back pulling her with you and towards the bed. You let go of her hands as you turn and unzip her dress. She steps out of it and turns to face you, taking off her underwear and quirking her eyebrow.

You move closer, the impulse to touch her skin stronger than the one to look at her, and you kiss her again, your hands roaming over the newly exposed skin and reacquainting themselves with it. You don't notice when she unzips your dress but you feel it pooling around your feet and you kick it away, quickly getting rid of your underwear and lowering her down onto the bed.

You let out a small sigh at the feeling of your skin against hers, feeling the rightness of it, before you capture her lips again. She scratches her nails down your back and you straddle her thigh rocking against her. You feel her adjust and she lifts her other leg to hook around your waist.

You keep kissing her hard, pressing her head back against the pillows until the need for oxygen makes you pull back. Your hand moves down her body stopping where her leg meets her hip and swirling your thumb against her skin.

"Stacie." Your eyes snap up to look at her when she breathes out your name. She's biting down on her lower lip, her breath coming out in short puffs.

You know what she wants and you give it to her. Your hand slides in between your bodies to the apex of her legs, your fingers plunging into wet heat and entering her.

She arches her back with a long low moan and you bury your fingers deeper before pulling them halfway out and back in. You know what she likes and soon she's writhing underneath you. You'll have time for slow later but you both need hard and fast now.

You feel her nails dig into your shoulders as she lifts her hips and her muscles contract around your fingers. You curl your fingers inside her and she whimpers, her body shuddering with pleasure. You kiss her brow softly and follow a path down her nose and to her lips as you wait for her to come down.

She kisses you back after a while, her hands relaxing on your shoulders and running up the back of your neck. You relax against her, knowing you still have a few hours of this before her impending departure, but for now this is enough.

* * *

She's already sitting on the edge of the bed when you open your eyes. You watch her naked back against the morning sun filtering in through the windows and you feel an urge to touch her. She grabs a shirt from the suitcase she has next to the bed and puts it on before you can move. You know she was probably planning on leaving before you woke up, even though this is her room, so you don't say anything.

You watch as she picks up her dress and packs her things carefully and quietly without turning around to face you. You feel your stomach drop when you hear the zipper closing on her suitcase, knowing you don't have much time left but there's nothing you can do to stop her.

She sighs and picks up the suitcase before turning to face the bed. If she's surprised that you're awake she doesn't show it, she just nods once and starts walking to the door.

"I miss you." The words fly out of your mouth out of their own volition and her hand stops on the doorknob.

"I know." Her hand moves again and she walks out. The sound of the door closing echoes in your heart but you still don't hate her.


	12. Hickey

Stacie's foot bounced anxiously as she counted down the seconds for her class to be over. She hadn't been able to focus since Aubrey sent her a picture five minutes ago of her in her Bella uniform. They were supposed to wear it to rehearsal today for the first time so they could get used to running the routine in it before the SBT mixer.

Stacie had seen pictures of the old Bellas in uniform so she knew what to expect but she hadn't been ready for how hot Aubrey looked in hers. She really needed this class to be over so she could go over to her apartment and show her how much she liked it.

She was out of her seat the second the professor dismissed them and she ran all the way across campus knocking urgently on the door and bouncing on her toes as she waited for Aubrey to open. The blonde looked at her surprised when she opened the door, not expecting to find her there since she usually at least texted her whenever she came over.

Stacie's eyes roamed over Aubrey's form predatorily, drinking in how perfect her calves looked in her heels, how the tight skirt clung to her, how delicious her cleavage looked in the white shirt. "Is Chloe home?"

"No, she has class. What-"

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted when Stacie barreled into her pushing her against the wall in a bruising kiss. She dropped her backpack freeing her hands and started unbuttoning Aubrey's shirt. "You look so hot."

Aubrey whimpered when Stacie finally managed to get all the buttons undone and ran her hands over her ribs and to her back looking down at her body hungrily. Stacie moved her hands down to her hips and pulled her roughly against her latching her lips to her neck and sucking hard. Aubrey moaned and pulled Stacie's head back. "Bedroom?"

Stacie took a step back and took her hand following the familiar route to Aubrey's bedroom, kicking the door closed and pushing the blonde onto the bed. Aubrey looked at her agape and breathing heavily. They hadn't been having sex for long, they hadn't even told anyone about it yet, and while it had always been driven by a fair amount of lust, she had never seen this much need in Stacie's eyes.

Stacie kneeled in front of Aubrey and ran her hands up her legs pushing up her skirt and taking off her underwear. She crawled over her capturing her lips again in a kiss that Aubrey deepened tangling her hands in her hair.

Stacie's hand traveled down her body and in between her legs making Aubrey break the kiss as she tilted her head back. Stacie's mouth moved to her neck as her fingers moved expertly inside of Aubrey.

Aubrey could feel the scrape of Stacie's teeth on her skin but it was hard to focus on something other than Stacie's fingers curling up in just the right way.

Stacie's mouth moved lower, burying her nose in her chest and pressing her lips against one breast and then the other. She moved up the swell of her breast and bit down right at the edge of her bra quickly soothing the bite with her tongue and turning her head to do the same on the other side.

Aubrey writhed under her barely able to contain her moans. Stacie's hand moved faster between her legs and she lifted her hips letting out a strangled whimper, closing her legs trapping Stacie's hand inside her. Stacie trailed kisses back up until she reached her mouth again, kissing her slowly until she relaxed.

Aubrey chuckled against her lips. "I'm glad you got that out of your system now, otherwise rehearsal would have been very interesting."

Stacie kissed her cheek and dropped her body next to Aubrey. "I don't think the rest of the girls would have appreciated us having sex on the piano."

Aubrey got a faraway look and Stacie laughed pulling her to her side to kiss her. "Are you thinking about it?"

Aubrey blushed. "Maybe."

Stacie laughed again and ran her hand up her thigh giving her a series of kisses. "After rehearsal?"

"No! Other people use that piano." Aubrey turned to her back and Stacie scooted closer.

She ran her hand over Aubrey's stomach slowly. "We can clean it up after." Stacie looked up at Aubrey noticing the angry red marks on her neck and chest for the first time. "Shit."

Aubrey frowned and turned back to her. "What?"

Stacie bit her lip. "You have to promise you won't get mad."

"Okay…" Aubrey smiled confused at Stacie's sudden change. "What's wrong?"

"I think I got a little carried away." she said pointing at her neck and chest.

Aubrey got up from the bed to look in the mirror. One side of her neck had a big red mark with a path of smaller ones on her chest and one big one on her boob. Stacie stood up behind her nervously. "Maybe no one will notice."

Aubrey glared at her reflection. "Right, maybe when I stand in front of the other Bellas today and teach them how to tie their scarf they won't see the huge hickey on my neck!"

Stacie rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her waist. "You promised you wouldn't get mad."

Aubrey pouted but didn't pull away. "I can't hide them!"

"Your shirt will cover the ones on your chest and we can use concealer on the one on your neck." Aubrey huffed and Stacie kissed her cheek. "It'll be fine."

* * *

Aubrey relaxed as the rehearsal progressed. Stacie had done a great job at covering the hickey on her neck and she had made sure her shirt hid the other ones. She had gotten through the explanation on how to tie the scarf quickly and without any major problems and she hadn't touched the scarf since then.

She let out a relieved sigh when rehearsal ended, giving Stacie a small smile when she winked at her. She moved to the piano to gather her things and took off her scarf throwing it in her bag.

"Dude, are you dating a vampire?"

"What?" Aubrey turned to look at Beca who was sitting on the floor changing her shoes.

"Your neck." Beca pointed at her.

Aubrey hurried to the mirrors on the other side of the room and looked at her neck. Some of the concealer had smeared off when she took off the scarf and part of the now purple bruise was visible. Aubrey looked around the room grateful that only Beca, Chloe, and Stacie were still there.

Stacie took a step towards her but Chloe beat her to the blonde. "Bree, what happened to your neck?"

"Nothing." Aubrey covered it with her hand and shrugged.

"If it's nothing then why won't you let me look?" Chloe looked at her challengingly.

"This is ridiculous." Aubrey walked back to her bag still holding her hand against her neck.

Chloe gasped making her turn back around. "Is that why you buttoned up your shirt all the way up to your neck?"

"This is how I always wear my shirt." Aubrey turned back around and had to drop her hand to finish packing her things.

Chloe walked slowly towards her. "It's okay if you're into that. I'm just surprised you didn't tell me you were having kinky vampire sex with anyone."

Stacie laughed but closed her mouth when Aubrey glared at her. "I'm not having kinky vampire sex with anyone!"

"Really, Bree, to each their own." Chloe shrugged.

"I'm not having kinky vampire sex! It was Stacie!"

Beca and Chloe turned to Stacie who opened and closed her mouth not really knowing what she was supposed to say. "It really wasn't kinky vampire sex."


	13. High Society

Stacie hadn't expected this to be her first solo assignment. She wasn't crazy, she knew she was still too new at the paper to get an important story, but this? She really didn't feel like talking to some stuck up socialite about whatever charity she had decided to support this month.

She unpacked her camera. They couldn't even be bothered to send a photographer with her so she had to take her own pictures. Not that her article would be big enough to have any pictures but they needed them for the online edition.

She was finishing taking out everything she would need when she heard someone approaching the room. She looked up just in time to see a gorgeous blonde crossing the threshold and smiling widely at her. "I'm sorry for making you wait, I was in a call."

"No, don't worry about it." She smiled back and shook her hand, her previous apprehension about her article gone. "I thought we could take some pictures first in case you're busy and you need to cut this short."

Aubrey paused looking down at herself for a second as if she wasn't dressed perfectly already. "Sure, do you want a picture of the painting?"

Stacie's smile widened, remembering that the reason she was writing the article in the first place was because she was donating a painting of Saint-Tropez by Paul Signac valued between 8 and 12 million dollars. The painting was also the reason they had let her do this on her own, the only advantage her art history minor had ever given her. "Yes, that would be awesome."

Aubrey led Stacie further into her penthouse, although Stacie would call it a small mansion even if she knew technically it wasn't right, and to another room Stacie figured was her office. The painting was hanging behind her desk casually and Stacie wondered if Aubrey ever looked at it and thought about how she had 8 million dollars there. "You keep it here?"

Aubrey smiled and walked around the desk. "The room is temperature and humidity controlled, and if anyone wanted to steal it they'd have to break the frame since it's wired to the wall. There's also a motion sensor which activates an alarm if anyone tries to move it." She turned to face Stacie. "And it's insured, of course."

Stacie took a step closer and looked at the painting awed. "It's beautiful." She clasped her hands behind her back letting the camera hang from her neck. "The sky, the reflections in the water, the shadows. Have you seen his other Saint-Tropez paintings?" Aubrey only nodded not wanting to interrupt Stacie's train of thought. Stacie shook her head. "I've only seen pictures but this one's just amazing."

Stacie took a step back and noticed Aubrey was looking at her curiously. She looked down embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm a Neo-Impressionism nerd."

Aubrey laughed but covered her mouth when she noticed Stacie's blush. "Don't be sorry, it's really cute."

Stacie smirked. "You think I'm cute?"

"Really cute." Aubrey bit her lip and Stacie's eyes flitted down to her lips.

She cleared her throat and took a step back picking up her camera. "Can you stand next to it? I'll take some of the painting and some of you so I'll have more options to show my editor."

Aubrey moved closer and tried to not look stiff. Stacie took a few pictures and moved forward to tuck a strand of hair behind Aubrey's ear. "Relax."

Aubrey ducked her head for a second and then looked up smiling. Stacie moved the camera to the side and gave her an approving nod. "Why are you donating the painting? I mean, you clearly love it if you have it here. I'm sure you can raise enough money some other way."

"It was my brother's favorite." Stacie put down the camera. "He was diagnosed with MS when he was 14. It was bad, he was in a lot of pain. He-" She swallowed and Stacie stepped closer without touching her. "-he killed himself last year. He was 25."

"I'm sorry." Stacie didn't know if she should try to comfort her in some way but she wasn't sure what was okay so she just put her hand on the edge of the desk next to Aubrey's without touching her.

"He's why I'm doing this - the auction, the fundraiser - for MS research and support programs." She looked at the painting and smiled. "I think he'd approve."

Aubrey straightened up, her hand brushing Stacie's for a fraction of a second. "Do you need more pictures?"

"No, I'm good with these."

* * *

Stacie turned off her recorder begrudgingly. She had loved talking to Aubrey but she couldn't keep stretching this any longer without her thinking she was insane or an idiot. "It was really nice talking to you."

Aubrey stood up when she did and smiled. "Yes, this was great."

She walked her to the elevator and Stacie kept trying to come up with reasons why she would need to see Aubrey again. She started trying to think of believable ways to explain how she had lost all the pictures when the elevator doors opened and she gave Aubrey one last smile before stepping inside.

Just as the doors started to close Aubrey's hand shot forward and stopped them. "I know this may be weird and feel free to say no, but would you like to come to the fundraiser? As my date?"

The side of Stacie's mouth quirked upward. "I would love that."


	14. Fear

"Come on, Aubrey! Please!" Chloe pulled her hand and pouted. "Beca already promised Stacie she'd go with her so I need someone to distract her while we sneak ahead."

"You know I hate haunted houses. They're not fun. I refuse to pay to be given a heart attack." Aubrey crossed her arms and turned away to avoid looking into Chloe's pleading eyes.

"I'll pay! Please, Bree." Chloe pulled her by the arm to face her and widened her eyes.

"You ready?" Beca walked up behind them with Stacie in tow.

"Almost, Aubrey is being difficult." Chloe turned back to her and tried the puppy look again.

"The great Aubrey Posen is afraid of a haunted house?" Stacie walked up to her swaying her hips and lifting her eyebrows.

Aubrey turned to face Stacie completely ignoring Chloe. "I'm not afraid, I just think it's stupid."

"Right." Stacie winked at her. "Well I hope you have fun out here by yourself. We'll see you in thirty to forty five minutes."

"What? Why does it take so long?"

"There's a line so that's at least ten minutes and getting through the house takes around twenty if you don't get lost."

Aubrey swallowed. "Get lost?"

"Yeah, it's a maze. Can you hold my wallet if you're staying?" She handed her wallet to Aubrey and turned Chloe and Beca. "Scaredy Posen's out, you coming?"

"I'm not scared!" Aubrey walked ahead towards the booth where they were selling the tickets. She pulled out a bill from Stacie's wallet and paid for both their tickets. "Coming, Conrad?"

Stacie chuckled and joined her, standing in front of the entrance to the haunted house while they waited for Beca and Chloe to get their tickets. Aubrey gave Stacie her wallet back and handed her the ticket. "I'll pay you back later."

"It's fine. It'll be worth it when I see how scared you get."

Aubrey fake smiled. "You're funny."

Beca and Chloe finished buying their tickets and Aubrey started walking towards the entrance and to the end of the line. She could hear Stacie talking to them about something but she was focused on the building in front of them.

It was a big warehouse. All the windows were blacked out and she could hear bangs and screams coming from inside. The exit was on the other side so she couldn't see the people coming out which she couldn't decide if it was a good or a bad thing.

The line moved faster than Aubrey wanted, she wasn't ready for this. She had lied when she told Stacie she wasn't scared. She knew nothing would actually happen to her but she hated not knowing when something or someone was going to jump out at her. She'd only been in a haunted house once before and she had been so tense her neck and shoulders hurt for days.

"You don't have to go in if you don't want to, I was just being annoying."

Stacie put her hand on Aubrey's shoulder but the blonde shrugged her off. "I'm fine, I told you I wasn't scared."

Stacie held up her hands defensively. "I know, I'm just saying you don't have to go in just because you feel you need to prove something to me."

"I'm not doing it to prove something to you." She sighed and turned to catch up when the line moved. "Besides, you already paid for it."

"Fine." Stacie shrugged. "If you get scared you can hold my hand."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I think I'll be fine on my own, thanks."

"Suit yourself."

They stepped forward and gave their tickets to a guy wearing a devil's mask at the door. His costume looked cheap and Aubrey relaxed a little thinking it couldn't be so bad if they all looked like that. They were led inside and into a dark room with four other people.

The door closed and Aubrey couldn't see anything. She fought the urge to reach for Stacie or Chloe and waited. After a while four doors opened in front of them. Chloe and Beca moved towards one of them and Chloe threw a smile over her shoulder. "We'll meet you outside."

Aubrey stared at her in shock. She knew she was just there to be with Stacie so they could be alone but she thought they would at least pretend for a bit. She felt Stacie touch her arm lightly. "Come on."

Aubrey walked with her to a different door. "Can you believe them?"

Stacie chuckled. "I figured they'd do that. I don't mind being with you."

Aubrey turned to smile at her when a door slammed open to their right and an arm shot forward. Aubrey shrieked and pressed herself against Stacie. She had momentarily forgotten they were in a place where things jumped at you.

Stacie gave her a little squeeze. "You okay?"

Aubrey looked down at their position and took a step back. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just surprised."

"I think we should continue that way."

Aubrey looked at her like she'd just suggested they join the Trebles. "Through that door where that hand just came from?"

"It makes sense that the shortest way out is through the places people would avoid."

"Or that's what they want you to think so you step into a trap."

Stacie smiled. "Okay, we won't go through that."

"Good." Aubrey nodded and started walking slowly forward making sure she stayed in the middle of the hallway in case anything else jumped out at them.

"Bree?" She felt Stacie pushing her from behind.

"What is it Stace?"

"We need to move faster."

Aubrey stopped and turned around to face her. "Why?"

Stacie pointed to the direction they were coming from where a figure in a dark robe was moving towards them. Aubrey grabbed Stacie's hand and started running, turning into the first open door and closing it.

Stacie leaned on the closed door with her hands on Aubrey's hips. "Do you think we lost him?"

"I hope so."

Aubrey took a moment to catch her breath ignoring the warm feeling of Stacie's hands on her hips. She looked up and took a step forward, immediately missing the contact when Stacie let her hands drop. There were candles scattered around the room and a large book open on a stand in the center.

Aubrey walked towards the book. She felt Stacie behind her leaning over her shoulder to read it. "Spell to summon a demon. Cool!"

Stacie's put her hand on Aubrey's back and leaned closer to keep reading. "Ahben tahkay ahben tahkay  
ahben atum ahben takayah."

"Stacie, stop."

Stacie chuckled. "Come on, you don't believe in this shit, do you?"

Aubrey stiffened and took a step away from her. "Of course not, but still. Let's keep moving."

Stacie ignored her and kept reading. "Entayah ah entayah tifentah ahben tahkay ah."

Aubrey went back and tugged her hand. "Stacie, please."

"I'm almost done. Et antay daytum entayah tahkay bayah ben."

She finished and looked around the room. Nothing happened but she could feel Aubrey's grip getting stronger. She gave Aubrey's hand a quick pump with hers. "Well that was disappointing."

The door they had come through opened with a loud bang and the robed figure appeared behind it. Aubrey immediately started sprinting away not letting go of Stacie's hand. The arrived at another long hallway and Aubrey slowed down.

She felt her foot step on something and a wall came down in front of them preventing them from continuing. "Shit, what now?"

"I think I saw a door around that corner."

Stacie pulled Aubrey back and walked through the door she had seen. They entered a room with mirrors on the walls that curved around the room so they couldn't see if there was a way out from where they stood.

Stacie started walking and Aubrey followed, gripping onto her forearm with her free hand. "I'm sorry I made you come. I just didn't want to be stuck with Beca and Chloe."

"And you thought I would be a better alternative?"

"Of course, I lo-"

Aubrey stopped and slapped Stacie's arm. "Shhh, can you hear that?"

Stacie didn't know if she was relieved her declaration of love was interrupted but she stayed quiet. There was an intermittent scraping sound coming from somewhere around them, and it was getting louder. "What is that?"

"It sounds like someone dragging something."

"Like what? A body? An ax? A snack cart?" Aubrey glared at her and she shrugged. "I'm hungry."

They kept walking slowly but they couldn't tell if the sound was coming from behind them or in front of them. "You know, if I was a serial killer I would totes work in a place like this and murder random people and hide their bodies with the props. No one would notice."

Aubrey's hand tightened around her arm. "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know, I just thought about it."

The scraping started getting louder so they sped up until they reached a dead end. "Shit, do you think we took a wrong turn?"

"I don't know." Stacie moved in front of Aubrey and pushed her back towards the wall.

"Do you think it's a real serial killer."

"I doubt it." She kept moving back making sure Aubrey stayed behind her. She couldn't see anyone else but the scraping kept getting louder.

"Stacie?" Stacie turned to face her. "Just in case."

Aubrey pulled her down for a kiss which Stacie responded to eagerly. Stacie pushed her back towards the wall running her tongue over her lips. She lifted her hand to hold herself up but she couldn't find the wall behind Aubrey.

Stacie pulled back and smiled. "This isn't a wall, it's a curtain."

Stacie pulled it back and they walked through it to a room with a big exit sign. Stacie looked back and grinned at Aubrey dragging her out where Beca and Chloe were already waiting. "What took you so long?"

Stacie shrugged not caring that she was still holding Aubrey's hand. "We got lost and then I found the way out."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "You didn't."

"I realized it was a curtain!"

"I knew it was before you said it."

Stacie paused and looked at Aubrey. "You knew before we…?" Aubrey nodded. "And you didn't tell me because…?"

"Because I wanted to do this." Aubrey let go of her hand and threw her arms around her neck pulling her down to kiss her. Stacie smiled against her lips and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Chloe and Beca looked at them in total shock. "Are you seeing this?"

Beca nodded quickly. "I think we did the haunted house wrong. We should have done whatever they did."


	15. Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not feeling that great about writing right now so I might take a break. Or go down an angst spiral. Or I might just get over it, but I just thought I'd let you know I might not post things for a bit.

Stacie pressed herself to the wall and peeked around the corner of the building. "All clear."

She ran along the side of the building with her back to the wall and stopped when she reached one of the windows. "I'm pretty sure it's this one."

Fat Amy nodded at her. "Alright, legs, you're up."

"Me? Why me?"

"You're the tallest." Cynthia Rose replied.

"And it's not like you bitches are going to lift me up." Fat Amy added.

Stacie groaned and lifted her hand to the windowsill. "Fine, give me a leg-up."

Cynthia Rose and Fat Amy helped her climb up and she carefully opened the window. She sat down on the edge with her legs inside and looked around the room. She smiled when she saw the stoves on one side of the room and a huge industrial fridge. Next to the fridge were two sets of doors and Stacie was sure one of them had to be where they kept the alcohol.

She looked down at the girls still standing under the window. "I'll try to open the door but be ready in case I have to come back through here."

The two girls nodded and Stacie gave them a thumbs up. Thankfully there was a counter running the length of the wall under her feet so she just had to stretch her legs and she was standing on it. She jumped down from the counter, not really worried about being quiet anymore. There was no one inside the building at this time. There were some night guards and a couple of patrols in case someone fell into a bear trap, but all the other workers had gone home.

Stacie walked to the first set of doors and opened them, frowning when all she found was canned food and oatmeal. She moved to the other set of doors and pulled but the doors didn't open. She pulled again but they still didn't budge.

Frowning she took out her phone to light the door and noticed it had a keyhole. She sighed. "Great."

She walked to one of the drawers next to the stove and opened it, rummaging inside for the key. She was on the third drawer when the lights went on. "Looking for this?"

Aubrey stood by the door twirling a key ring in her finger. "A-Aubrey. Hi. I was thirsty and I thought I'd come get water."

Aubrey started walking towards her. "There's a water cooler outside. And why would you need to open drawers if you just wanted water."

Stacie bit her lip. "I needed a… can opener! I got hungry too. You know I love spaghetti-o's."

Aubrey nodded. "You know, Stacie, I expected this from the others but not from you. I'm very disappointed."

Stacie's face fell. "What?"

"Climbing in through the window to steal booze and then lying about it." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I thought you were better than that."

"I'm- I-" Stacie didn't know how to defend herself and disappointing Aubrey was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I don't allow this kind of behavior. The usual punishment for an offense of this kind is drills in the mud pit with the rest of your team. No matter the hour." Stacie swallowed and looked down. The other girls would hate them if Aubrey woke them up now and threw them in the mud pit. "And if it had been anyone else I would have done that."

Stacie's eyes snapped up and Aubrey noticed there was a hint of sadness there. "You said I wasn't going to get special treatment. You've barely even looked at me."

Aubrey took a step forward and hesitantly reached for Stacie's hand. "I know, I'm sorry." She laced their fingers together and pulled her closer. "I just knew that if I did I wouldn't be able to look away and the rest of the girls would know."

Stacie smiled and lifted her hand brushing her thumb over her cheek. "I thought you were having second thoughts about us."

Aubrey shook her head and kissed Stacie. Stacie smiled and moved her lips to Aubrey's cheek burying her nose in her hair and taking a deep breath. She smelled like pine and smoke and something sweet that was distinctly hers. "I missed you."

She turned her head to brush their lips together again. She slowly deepened the kiss feeling Aubrey melt against her as she ran her tongue over her upper lip.

Aubrey broke the kiss with a whimper and pushed Stacie back with her hand on her shoulder. "You make me want to do things and people make food here."

Stacie grinned and moved forward again but Aubrey didn't let her get close enough to kiss her. Aubrey brushed their noses together teasingly and couldn't resist giving her a couple of quick pecks.

She walked towards the liquor cabinet and unlocked it, taking out a bottle of tequila and handing it to Stacie. "You should leave, CR and Fat Amy are still outside waiting."

Stacie looked at the bottle and then at Aubrey. "Are you sure?"

Aubrey shrugged. "Don't want people to think I caught you and let you go. No one will believe I gave you that myself."

Stacie kissed her one more time. "You know they're gonna find out about us sooner or later. We could just take this to your cabin and have our own private party now."

"You're supposed to be bonding with your team, not with me."

Stacie nibbled on her lower lip. "I'd much rather bond with you."

Aubrey pushed her away again. "Go. I'll see you in the morning. Don't drink too much."

Aubrey turned off the light and Stacie climbed back up onto the window. Aubrey handed her the bottle and Stacie took advantage of her position to kiss her goodbye. "Be careful jumping down."

Stacie nodded and looked out the window. "What took you so long? And why did you turn the light on?"

Stacie lifted the bottle triumphantly and dropped it into Cynthia Rose's waiting arms. With one last wink at the blonde she jumped down to the ground. "I needed the light to find the key to the cabinet."

Fat Amy clapped her on the back. "You're lucky you found it."

Stacie turned back to look at the mess hall. "Yes, I am."


	16. Tea

Aubrey closed the door softly and sat down on the top step of the porch. A gust of cool wind made her shiver despite the early summer weather. The lake glistened with the first rays of dawn and Aubrey let herself relax in the rare stillness that surrounded her. She adjusted her grip on her mug and took a sip, enjoying the warmth from the liquid go down her throat.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd done this. Between the ICCA finals and graduation she'd barely had time to take a breath in the past month. But it was over now. They'd won the ICCAs, she'd graduated top of her class, her room was packed; there was nothing left for her to do here.

A year ago, this thought would have caused her to feel a great deal of anxiety. But the past year, even though it hadn't been easy, had left her with a sense of accomplishment and closure.

Not that she wouldn't miss it. "Bellas for life" wasn't just something they said, she'd always be a Bella. And she was sure she'd miss it from time to time. But she was ready to move on.

It helped knowing that Beca wouldn't let the Bellas fall on the wayside, especially now that Chloe was staying.

She sighed. She still didn't fully understand why Chloe had chosen to stay, but she knew that questioning it further would only cause more problems. And while she was okay with letting go of her life in Barden, her friendship with Chloe was one of the things she wanted to keep. Even if that meant looking the other way when Chloe told her she wasn't graduating with her.

She heard the door open behind her and she looked up. Stacie waved at her from inside the house and then disappeared again, closing the door.

Aubrey smiled sadly. She wished she had allowed herself to get to know the other girls more. She had been so focused on winning that she had ignored them entirely. She hadn't noticed how much she had missed until last night. Chloe had thrown a going away party for her with just the Bellas and, without the pressure of being their leader, it had felt different than all the other times they had been together.

She didn't let herself dwell too much on it. She had done what she had needed to do in order to win, and while she wouldn't do things exactly the same if she had the chance for a do-over, she knew that there was nothing she could do about it now.

The door opened again and Stacie sat down next to her holding a steaming mug of tea. "What are you doing out here?"

Aubrey shrugged. "Thinking. Saying goodbye to the house."

She could feel Stacie's gaze on her but she soon turned to face the lake too without saying anything. They sat in companionable silence for a while, just drinking their tea, until Aubrey's mug was empty.

Aubrey placed the empty mug behind her and leaned back. "Why are you up so early?"

"Fat Amy was snoring, and the couch isn't exactly comfortable."

Aubrey chuckled. "I don't understand why you all decided we had to sleep in the living room when there are perfectly good beds upstairs."

Stacie shrugged. "It was our last chance to be together. All of us." She smiled at Aubrey and then looked back out at the lake not talking for a minute. "Are you going to miss it?"

"Barden?"

Stacie bit her lip. "Being a Bella."

"Of course." Aubrey sighed and straightened up. "I'm not sure if I know who I am without being a Bella. It was all I was for a while."

She paused and looked at the younger girl. She wasn't sure what prompted Stacie to come out here and sit with her. They certainly weren't close and, even though she'd had a good time last night, she was pretty sure the other girls still didn't like her that much.

But there was something about Stacie being there, just sitting next to her when she could've chosen to go anywhere else in the house, that was strangely comforting. She felt like this was her chance to let her guard down, to let at least one of the other girls see her as something other than the girl who tortured them for a year.

"I'm kind of excited to find out." Stacie's brow furrowed with confusion. "Who I am outside of the Bellas. Who I can be." She smiled at Stacie self consciously but it faded away when she realized the other girl wasn't judging her. "What are you doing for the summer?"

"I'm going home for a while and then I might join Beca and CR in New York." Stacie turned away and fidgeted with the lace of her shoe. "Maybe we can see you while we're there."

Aubrey frowned at her confused. The girls knew she had a accepted a job in New York but she didn't expect them to want to see her. "You want to see me?"

Stacie shrugged still not meeting her gaze. "We're gonna miss you."

Aubrey snorted. "That's a lie."

Stacie finally faced her with a serious expression. "I will."

"Why?"

Aubrey thought she saw something cross Stacie's eyes but it was gone before she could identify and the brunette quickly hid it with a smirk. "I guess I like being yelled at."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder with her own. "I didn't yell that much." Stacie chuckled. "At least not at you."

"That's true, it could've been worse. I could've been Beca." She stuck her tongue out at Aubrey and nudged her back.

Stacie turned away and sipped her tea silently while Aubrey studied her quietly. She saw her rub her eyes and noticed for the first time since she'd met her that she was wearing contacts. She wondered if she ever wore glasses and tried to picture her in them.

She really didn't know anything about her. She didn't know what kind of music she liked, or what kind of books she read, or even if she liked reading. Everything she knew was what she had written in her auditions sign up sheet which hadn't been much.

She scooted closer to her and poked her leg with her pinky. "We can meet up if you go to New York."


	17. Election

Aubrey had been part of the Student Council all through High School, being the first freshman to be made Secretary and occupying the Vice-president seat on her second year. She had run unopposed for President on her junior year, partly because no one else in the council cared enough to run against her, but mostly because everyone thought she would be good for the job. She tried to represent the interests of all the different groups in the school and she knew the Student Council Constitution better than anyone.

Anyone who even had a vague idea about what the Student Council did assumed she would be President again. Which was why she, along with everyone else, were surprised when "Stacie Conrad for Student Council President" posters appeared around the school overnight.

She clenched her teeth and took a deep breath, walking to her locker already going through all the things she needed for her campaign. Chloe, her current Vice-President and best friend, was already waiting for her there and hurried to meet her as soon as she spotted her. "What are we going to do?"

"We need posters and I need to rewrite my candidate statement before the assembly today." She got her books out of her locker and slammed the door. Chloe followed her as they made their way to their first class. "She'll have the geeks on her side."

"And the jocks." Aubrey arched an eyebrow at Chloe. "Boobs."

"Right." Aubrey rolled her eyes at how dumb High School boys were

"We need to start talking to people and-" Aubrey stopped and took a step back to look into one of the classrooms she passed. She narrowed her eyes at the girl sitting on a desk in the middle of the room surrounded by a few people.

Aubrey walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder. "Conrad, can we talk?"

Stacie turned and raked her eyes over Aubrey with a smirk. "Hey, Aubrey. I take it you saw the posters."

She jumped off the desk and followed Aubrey away from the rest of the kids. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm running for Student Council President." Stacie replied with a barely contained laugh.

"Why?"

Stacie shrugged. "I figured you running unopposed again this year wouldn't be as fun. Also, I kinda want new lab equipment and you keep pushing for more money for the arts department."

Aubrey opened her mouth affronted. "You know I have no real say on what the budget gets used on. And the arts department has been having cuts every year, I'm trying to keep it from disappearing!"

Stacie took a step closer and lowered her voice. "This whole fuming blonde look you have going really works for you, Bree."

Aubrey glared at her. She knew Stacie was only trying to rile her up and she wasn't going to let her. "You're going down, Conrad."

Stacie hummed sultrily. "I can't wait."

Aubrey huffed and turned away, turning to glare at Stacie as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Aubrey got in the lead almost as soon as she started campaigning. Despite Stacie's popularity among certain groups, Aubrey's experience gave her a clear advantage. The day before the elections Stacie watched the blonde smile smugly as she entered their AP US History class, the only one they had together.

Stacie had figured out pretty quickly she wasn't going to win but she was having too much fun pushing Aubrey's buttons and it gave her a chance to spend more time with the blonde. She leaned forward to say something to her when the teacher walked in and she had to sit back again.

The class went by slowly, it was the last one of the day and Stacie couldn't wait for it to be over so she could talk to Aubrey. Her phone chimed at the same time as the bell and she took it out to check it. She had a new email from an unknown sender with the subject line "The truth about Aubrey Posen."

She looked around the room and saw several people checking their phones too. She clicked to open the message noticing it was sent to a lot of people, most of the names she recognized from the people in her class. The message only contained a picture and Stacie bit her lip as she waited for it to load still standing next to her desk.

She almost dropped her phone when the picture finally loaded. It was a picture of Aubrey kissing a girl she didn't recognize. It wasn't exactly scandalous but she knew that Aubrey had never externally appeared to be anything other than completely straight.

She looked up trying to find Aubrey but she saw her walking out of the classroom in a hurry. She ran after her, managing to see her turning to go up the stairs that lead to the second floor.

Stacie didn't think about was she was doing, or what she was going to say when she caught up to Aubrey, but she hurried behind her bumping into several people on her way. The hallway was practically deserted when she reached the second floor, most people had left already and all of the after school activities were either on the first floor or outside.

She looked both ways wondering where Aubrey could have gone. She probably wouldn't have gone to any of the classrooms, someone would come by to lock them soon. She walked to the nearest bathroom and hesitated before opening the door. She was pretty sure Aubrey had seen the email or she wouldn't have fled like that, but she wasn't sure what to expect.

She opened the door slowly and took a step in when she saw Aubrey in front of the sink. She saw her shoulders shake a little and she walked to her side placing a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Aubrey?"

Aubrey wrenched her arm away and turned around. "What do you want, Stacie?"

Stacie looked at Aubrey's tear stained cheeks and her heart broke. "I just wanted to see how you were."

"Why? So you can make fun of me." Aubrey crossed her arms. "Congratulations, Stacie. Your plan worked. You win."

"My plan?" Stacie shook her head. "That wasn't me! I didn't know, I swear!"

Aubrey laughed mirthlessly. "Right, so it's a coincidence that it was sent the day before the elections."

Stacie took a step closer to the blonde. "Aubrey, I swear I didn't do it. I would never do that to you."

Aubrey looked at Stacie trying to decide if she was telling the truth or not. After a while she dropped her arms, sighing and turning away from her. "I believe you."

Stacie stepped closer to her and rubbed her arm comfortingly. "Bree, it's going to be okay. No one cares if you like girls, that has nothing to do with your ability to be President." Aubrey scoffed but didn't pull away again which Stacie took as a good sign and moved closer. "I will withdraw, everyone knows you deserve it."

Aubrey turned around, her previous hurt mostly replaced by confusion. "You would do that?"

"I don't want this as much as you do, and you'll be way better than me." Stacie shrugged. "The only other option is to level the field and send a picture of me kissing a girl."

Aubrey chuckled. "I'm sure you can find someone who'll volunteer for that."

Stacie took a step closer and ran her hand down Aubrey's arm, stopping at the crook of her elbow and brushing her thumb over the soft skin there. "How about you?"

Aubrey lifted her hand to Stacie's shoulder. "I don't see how another picture of me kissing a girl levels the field or helps my image."

"Oh but it does. You show them that you don't care about what they think, and any idiot who thought about not voting for you because you kissed a girl, won't vote for me either." Stacie slowly moved her head closer as she talked until her nose was next to Aubrey's.

"It's a win-win then." Stacie felt Aubrey's breath against her lips.

"It's a win-" She kissed her softly. "win-" Aubrey kissed her. "win."

Stacie deepened the kiss and Aubrey buried her hands in her hair pulling her closer. After a while, Aubrey pulled back slightly to speak. "Who's taking the picture?"

Stacie panted for a few seconds before taking her phone out of her back pocket. She lifted the phone and checked the camera was facing the right direction before capturing Aubrey's lips again. She clicked a picture every few seconds knowing most would probably be useless and, when she figured she had enough, she put the phone on the sink next to them, moving her hand to Aubrey's back and holding her against her body.

She broke the kiss when she started laughing. She kept her arms around Aubrey as the blonde regarded her with a curious expression. "What is it?"

"I just thought about how I really am going down soon."

Aubrey slapped her shoulder and took a step away and out of her embrace. "We've kissed once!"

She started to walk out of the bathroom and Stacie grabbed her phone and followed her. "So date first?"

Aubrey pushed her away when she got closer and walked faster. "After I beat you tomorrow." Stacie smiled and stopped, watching Aubrey walk to the stairs and turn back to face her. "Send that picture."


	18. Whoever It Takes

Aubrey went to the door, confused as to who would be looking for her this late. She looked through the peephole and frowned. She checked the mirror next to the door to make sure she looked half decent before opening it a fraction.

"Stacie?" Stacie turned and gave her a dazzling smile and Aubrey shouldn't have been surprised that it still made her insides turn to mush even after almost three years of not seeing the girl. "What are you doing here?"

Stacie's smile turned shy. "Can I come in?"

Aubrey opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside to let Stacie in. She figured she was probably there to try to talk her into helping the Bellas. "Do you want water or-"

Stacie dropped her coat and stood next to the couch in a black lingerie set complete with a garter belt. Aubrey's throat went dry at the sight and it took her brain a few seconds to catch up. She turned around squeezing her eyes tight. "What are you doing? Put your coat back on."

She felt Stacie's hand touch her shoulder and move down her arm. "I thought we could talk, maybe I could get you to change your mind about helping us."

Aubrey shuddered out a breath and turned around, walking around Stacie and grabbing her coat from the floor. "We can talk but you need to put this on."

Stacie arched an eyebrow at her and Aubrey nodded. She was doing her best to not look down at Stacie's body but she could feel every nerve ending reacting to it. Stacie sighed and put on the coat, sitting on the couch and crossing her arms sulkily.

Aubrey took a moment to steer her mind away from all the wildly inappropriate thoughts occupying it at the moment and sat down next to Stacie. They didn't say anything for a while, the silence stretching between them awkwardly. Finally, Aubrey sighed and angled her body towards her. "What are you doing, Stacie?"

"I thought it was obvious." She looked at Aubrey and shook her head. "I'll leave. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"Sit down." Stacie had barely lifted herself off the couch but she immediately dropped back down. "What did you think would happen? I would just jump into bed with you and be so blown away by your skills that I'd agree to help the Bellas?" Stacie shrugged and nodded. "Did Chloe send you?"

"No, she doesn't know I'm here." Stacie sighed. "I just thought that maybe you'd be more open to helping us if I asked. In person."

"And you have to be half naked to ask?"

Stacie looked down and shrugged again. "It usually works."

"Stacie…" She sighed. "I know you, I know how amazing you are, you don't have to seduce me to get something from me."

Stacie looked up at her and blinked confused. "You think I'm amazing?"

Aubrey smiled. "Of course I do. You're smart and funny and caring and loyal. You have so much more to offer the Bellas, and anyone, than just your body. I don't understand why you keep reducing yourself to this one thing."

Stacie bit her lip and looked away. "It's easier when people don't expect anything more from you than an inappropriate comment."

Aubrey reached out and tilted Stacie's head towards her, cupping her cheek softly. "I expect more." Aubrey dropped her hand and looked away. "Do you really need my help?"

Stacie scoffed. "We're a mess. I don't know what Chloe told you but it's been getting worse since the Kennedy Center fiasco. Chloe is worse than you three years ago, Beca keeps disappearing, and no one else knows what to do. We need a leader, someone we all respect and who can get us back in line. We need you, Bree."

Aubrey thought about it for a minute. The reason she had refused when Chloe asked wasn't because she didn't want to help them, she just didn't feel like it was her place anymore. She had left the Bellas, and while she still cared about the Bellas as an institution, and Stacie and Chloe, she didn't feel like she was welcome anymore.

"Please, Bree."

She looked up at Stacie's pleading eyes. Chloe must have taught her the puppy eyed look because Aubrey felt her resistance melting instantaneously. "Fine, you can come to the Lodge."

"You're the best!" Stacie squealed and threw her arms around her neck and tackling her onto her back.

After a few seconds she lifted herself up and hovered over Aubrey, their noses almost touching. Stacie hadn't zipped up her coat and it hung open. Aubrey was painfully aware of her scantily clad body but she didn't move.

"Oh, fuck it." Stacie pressed her lips to Aubrey's a few times before the blonde responded. She lifted her hands to Stacie's bare waist and let her fingers skirt over her skin.

Stacie lifted her legs up onto the couch and deepened the kiss, making Aubrey moan against her lips. She shifted under Stacie and pushed her back to break the kiss.

"Stacie," Stacie's lips were back on hers before she could continue and Aubrey responded to the kiss briefly before trying to speak again. "Stace, I like you."

Stacie nodded and continued kissing her. "I like you too."

Aubrey cupped her jaw and pulled her off. Stacie's lips traveled down to her neck and chest. "I really like you."

Stacie lifted her head and looked into her eyes. "Aubrey, I know. You don't like me just for my body, this is not just about sex. I feel the same way, and we can talk about it for as long as you want afterwards, but I promised to do whoever it took to get to the top and you are keeping me from fulfilling my promise."

Aubrey smirked. "I already agreed to help you."

"I need to make sure you don't change your mind between now and the retreat."

"That's not even scheduled yet."

"All the more reason to do this." Stacie nodded seriously and latched her lips onto Aubrey's neck again.

Aubrey squirmed under her. "You know you're just giving me incentives to put off helping you."

Stacie lifted her head again with a furrowed brow as if trying to reconcile what Aubrey was saying with what she wanted to do. "I'll just have to stay here until the retreat."

Aubrey laughed and ran her fingers up the back of Stacie's neck. "I think that could work."

"Now that that's settled..." Stacie smiled and pecked her lips quickly before discarding her coat for the second time that night. This time Aubrey let it stay on the floor.


	19. Lesbian Bed Death

_**Lesbian Bed Death**_ _(n.) When sexual relations between a lesbian couple have virtually ceased, yet the companionship remains._

* * *

Stacie walked out of the bathroom and climbed into bed, her feet sliding down Aubrey's legs making her squirm. "Your feet are cold!"

Stacie chuckled and pulled her close. "Sorry, baby."

Her hand moved to Aubrey's back and under her shirt, rubbing small circles on her skin. She kissed her softly and Aubrey cradled her jaw, humming contentedly and pulling back.

"Goodnight." She turned around and turned off the light, scooting close against Stacie's front and settling on her pillow.

Stacie frowned. That had not been a goodnight kiss, it was a let's-have-sex kiss. Stacie's hand moved to Aubrey's hip and she leaned up to kiss Aubrey's neck. "Bree."

Aubrey hummed but Stacie could tell she was already half asleep so she let it go, sighing and settling next to her.

* * *

Stacie dragged her feet as she walked into the apartment. She dropped her bag next to the couch and flopped on it, landing face down on Aubrey's lap. Aubrey chuckled and combed her fingers through her hair. "How was rehearsal?"

Stacie groaned and turned to her back. "Chloe is evil. She made us do more cardio than all the times you made us do cardio put together."

"I don't think that's possible."

"It is. Everything hurts." She pouted and Aubrey leaned down to kiss her. "Can I quit the Bellas?"

"No, they need you." Aubrey kissed her again and leaned back on the couch, brushing the top of her forehead softly. "I'll talk to Chloe and tell her to lay off a bit."

Stacie closed her eyes and sighed, completely content. "Thanks, baby."

Stacie drifted off on Aubrey's lap. Aubrey smiled down at her sleeping girlfriend and unpaused the movie she had been watching.

She nudged Stacie awake when the movie ended. "Babe, let's go to bed."

Stacie turned around and pressed her face against her stomach. "I'm good here, thanks."

Aubrey chuckled and tugged Stacie's hand. "Come on, you can keep sleeping when you get there."

Stacie huffed and groaned in pain when she stood up. "I hate Chloe."

Aubrey smiled and led her to their bedroom where Stacie dropped heavily on the bed. "Stace, you can't sleep like that." She took of her shoes and dropped them next to the bed. "Roll over so I can unbutton your shorts."

Stacie rolled over with a smile. "Hmm yes, take my shorts off."

Aubrey laughed and pulled them off. She bent over to kiss her. "Are you keeping your shirt?" Stacie shook her head and Aubrey pulled it off too. Stacie scooted back and reached out for Aubrey with her eyes closed. Aubrey took her hand and kissed her. "You're falling asleep."

Stacie tried to open her eyes but she didn't have the energy. "I'm awake."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and kissed her again. "It's okay, sleep."

Stacie mumbled something before passing out and Aubrey shook her head. She kissed Stacie's forehead and pulled the comforter over her body. "Night, gorgeous."

* * *

Stacie looked around the room, walking straight to Beca when she spotted her next to the piano talking to Chloe. She grabbed Beca's arm and pulled her away ignoring her protests and Chloe's confused look. "I need to talk to you."

Beca rubbed her arm when she let her go. "What the hell, dude?"

"I have to break up with Aubrey."

"What?" Beca yelled and Stacie shushed her, pulling her further away from the rest of the girls. "What happened? You look so happy together."

"We are! I love her and we're happy but…" Stacie ran her hands through her hair and started pacing in front of Beca. "I don't know how this happened."

Beca put her hands on Stacie's shoulders. "What happened?"

Stacie bit her lip and sniffled. "Lesbian Bed Death."

Beca scrunched up her face. "What?"

"Lesbian Bed Death. When you've dated another girl for so long that you stop having sex and you just cuddle or hold hands or I don't know what people do! It's horrible, I can't live like this!"

Beca pressed her lips tight and took a deep breath. "When was the last time you had sex?"

"A week ago." Stacie stomped her foot. "A whole week! When we started dating we could barely make it through the day without ripping each other's clothes off."

Beca grimaced, remembering several occasions in which Stacie and Aubrey had been just about to rip their clothes off in front of the rest of the Bellas. She squeezed Stacie's shoulders. "Stace, a week isn't that long."

"It is for us! The only time we've gone this long without having sex is when we're not in the same city." Stacie whimpered.

"Stace, I think you might be exaggerating a bit. Just have sex tonight, you'll be fine."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "Do you think if we could just have sex tonight I'd be talking about breaking up with her? I've tried, she just says goodnight and goes to sleep. And with Chloe trying to make us the most athletic a capella group in the world, I barely even have energy to try!"

"Okay, now you're just being dramatic. Do you really want to break up with her?" Stacie shook her head. "Good. Go home now and have sex with your girlfriend." She turned her around and pushed her towards the door. "I'll tell Chloe you had an emergency."

* * *

"Baby?" Stacie entered the apartment and kicked off her shoes.

"Kitchen!"

She went to the kitchen and hugged Aubrey from behind. "What are you doing home so early?"

"I needed to do something." She pulled her back away from the counter and kissed her neck.

"What?"

"You." She turned her around and kissed her hungrily. "Promise me we'll never go a week without having sex again."

Aubrey chuckled. "I figured it would take you less time to say something."

Stacie gasped. "You did this on purpose?"

"It was a little experiment." Aubrey kissed her and started walking her back towards their room. "I was going to end it last night but you came back exhausted."

"That's so mean. I kinda don't want to have sex with you anymore except I really, really want to."

Aubrey nipped her lip and pushed her against the wall in front of their bedroom door. "We can stop if you want."

Stacie growled and pushed her back towards the bed. "Stop talking. Sex now."


	20. Cake Porn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a thing that I wrote. I put a link on my tumblr (ss-staubrey) to the video that inspired this in case you want to watch it. I fully recommend it. This really just trashy, pwp cake porn. There’s no way to justify this. It’s literally cake porn.

Stacie took the piece of cake she'd been saving from Beca's birthday party out of the fridge and grinned. She set it on the kitchen island in between her and Aubrey who was sitting on a stool working on something on her computer.

"Are you sure you don't want some?"

Aubrey glanced between the cake and Stacie before looking back at her computer. "No, thanks, babe."

"It's really good."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow at Stacie, she knew she had been trying to cut back on sugar for a few weeks and that cake was nothing but sugar. "I'm sure it is, but I don't want any."

Stacie pushed the stool next to her to the side and leaned forward, biting her lip and reaching out to swipe at the frosting. Aubrey watched rapt as Stacie lifted her finger to her mouth, her lips surrounding her second knuckle. Stacie closed her eyes and slid out her finger slowly with a low moan.

Aubrey set her hands flat on the surface of the table. She could feel her heart speed up as Stacie opened her eyes and looked at her, her tongue peeking out to lick her lips before her hand moved towards the cake again. This time she grabbed a small piece between her thumb and forefinger and put it in her mouth, a few crumbs falling down her chin as she licked her fingers clean.

Aubrey was breathing shallowly. The only reason she hadn't pounced on Stacie was because she knew she was doing this just because she had said she didn't want cake. Giving in would mean admitting defeat. Although she was having a really hard time remembering why she didn't like losing because in this case losing looked a lot like winning.

Stacie broke off another piece, a chunk falling as it neared her mouth leaving a dollop of frosting on her chin and the side of her breast where it had bounced off.

"Whoops." She used her finger to pick up the frosting on her chest and brought it to her mouth and it was all Aubrey could take before she shot off her stool and went over to Stacie, crashing their lips together hungrily.

Stacie tasted like frosting and she moaned into her mouth, the frosting on Stacie's chin smearing on her own. She pulled back and covered the spot with her mouth licking it clean before moving down to lick the spot on Stacie's chest that was still sticky.

Aubrey straightened up and looked at Stacie, her eyes darker than ever. Her hands were on either side of the kitchen island trapping her. Stacie brought her hands to her hips and pulled her closer with a smirk, but Aubrey could tell she was just as turned on as she was. "I thought you didn't want cake."

"I don't."

Aubrey grabbed a small piece of cake from the plate and brought it to Stacie's lips who opened her mouth obediently. Stacie's eyes stayed on hers as she surrounded her fingers with her lips, her tongue swirling around them before pulling back and releasing them with a pop.

Aubrey covered her lips with her own immediately, retrieving all the crumbs that had ended up on Stacie's lips and then deepening the kiss, pressing Stacie's body hard against the kitchen island.

Stacie moved her hands to her lower back and tugged at the hem of her shirt. Aubrey pulled back so Stacie could take off her shirt and dipped her finger into the frosting again. Stacie's mouth was already opened by the time her finger reached it. She pushed her leg in between Aubrey's as she took her finger into her mouth. She sucked and twirled her tongue around it as she pressed her leg up again making Aubrey moan.

She slid her finger out, Stacie's teeth scraping the pad softly, and used her hand to hold Stacie's jaw firmly, crashing their lips together again. Stacie pushed away from the kitchen island and flipped them over, her hands moving up to unlatch Aubrey's bra and letting it fall next to her shirt.

Stacie broke the kiss and leaned back, reaching out for the cake again. She traced her frosting covered finger along Aubrey's clavicle and then used her tongue to clean it up, pressing a sticky kiss to Aubrey's lips when she was done.

Stacie's finger, already loaded with more frosting, move towards Aubrey's breast this time. She whirled her finger around her nipple a few times before covering it with her lips, her tongue tracing circles around it. She repeated it on the other nipple. The cold frosting followed by Stacie's warm lips and tongue were driving Aubrey crazy.

She buried her hands in Stacie's hair and pulled her up for a kiss. Stacie moved her hands down to the button of her jeans and popped it open, sliding the zipper down and pulling both her pants and underwear down. Aubrey kicked them off and Stacie pressed her body against hers. It felt weird to be completely naked when Stacie was still fully clothed but she was comfortable enough with her that she didn't really mind.

Stacie's hands traveled over her skin until they reached the top of her thighs. She moved the plate to the side and pulled back from their kiss. "Hop on."

Aubrey put her hands on Stacie's shoulders and hopped on the kitchen island. She was really glad they had gone for the solid marble slab. Stacie stepped in between Aubrey's legs and smirked reaching for the cake again.

Aubrey leaned back on her hands and Stacie swiped her finger under Aubrey's belly button, Aubrey's hips rocking when Stacie's tongue moved over the spot to clean it. Stacie took more frosting and smeared some on Aubrey's inner thigh, quickly licking it clean before moving to the other side.

She continued this, moving up Aubrey's legs slowly. When she got to the top of Aubrey's legs, she put her hands on Aubrey's hips and smiled before leaning forward and licking up Aubrey's center. Aubrey closed her eyes and moaned, throwing her head back.

Aubrey didn't need much after how worked up she was already. She could feel pleasure coiling at the pit of her stomach and her hips pressed forward trying to get closer to Stacie's mouth. Her moans got louder and higher and Stacie's tongue started moving faster.

One of Aubrey's hands moved to the back of Stacie's head, pulling her against herself as she trembled, moaning incoherently, her other hand tried to find purchase on the slick marble surface, landing on top of the cake and sending it flying to the floor.

She kept Stacie's head close, even though her tongue was barely moving now, until she could open her eyes again. She scratched the top of Stacie's head and nudged her up, her hair getting sprinkled with cake crumbs.

Stacie straightened up and pulled Aubrey into a brief but deep kiss. Aubrey rested her head on Stacie's forehead and draped her arms over her shoulders. "I'm sorry about your cake."

Stacie leaned back to look at Aubrey and raised her eyebrows. "There's another piece in the fridge."


	21. Antagonistic Pairs

_Antagonistic Pairs: Antagonist and agonist muscles often occur in pairs, called antagonistic pairs. As one muscle contracts, the other relaxes. An example of an antagonistic pair is the biceps and triceps; to contract - the triceps relaxes while the biceps contracts to lift the arm._

* * *

Aubrey and Chloe had an unspoken agreement: whenever one of them was stressed, the other one had to stay calm. It wouldn't help anyone if both of them freaked out at the same time. So, whenever one of them noticed the other one's stress levels getting a little too high, they would force themselves, however it took, to remain level headed and try to help.

This arrangement had worked perfectly throughout their first three years of college. If Chloe had a particularly stressful exam coming up or if Alice had just been unnecessarily mean to her, Aubrey would try to make her feel better by making their apartment feel more homey. She'd light candles, bake cookies, order junk food; if it was school related, she'd help her make flashcards and quiz her until she felt more confident. Whenever Aubrey got stressed, Chloe would try to distract Aubrey. Take her out, do something different just the two of them to get her out of her routine and out of her head.

It was the best. Not only did it prevent them from both stressing out unnecessarily and spiraling out of control, it also helped keep their stressful periods shorter. This was why, even though Aubrey was just as worried about getting the right girls for the Bellas as Chloe was, she tried to keep calm during the activities fair and reassure Chloe that everything would be okay. Because that's what they did, they kept each other calm.

Until Chloe met Beca. And it wasn't that Chloe had forgotten about Aubrey or that she didn't care anymore, but every invitation to go out and relax with Chloe always included Beca now. And Aubrey was happy for Chloe, she really was, but the fact that Beca made Chloe happy didn't mean that she had to like the little hobbit, or that she had to hang out with her more than Bellas practice and competitions required of her.

Chloe, on the other hand, was starting to feel guilty that she wasn't doing enough to help Aubrey. She wanted to help her, and she could see her getting more and more stressed as time went by. She could almost feel a break down coming and she felt completely incapable of stopping it.

"Why don't you ask someone else to try to calm Aubrey down?"

Chloe frowned confused. She had been talking to Beca about it trying to find a solution. "What?"

"Yeah, if Aubrey isn't letting you help her maybe she'll let someone else help." Beca shrugged. "Doesn't she have other friends?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes in thought. Aubrey did have other friends who could take her out and potentially distract her but she didn't think that would be enough in this case. She was way past just needing a distraction, she needed something more effective.

She suddenly stood up from Beca's bed with a determined look on her face. "You're right, let's go."

Beca looked at her not sure how her suggestion had led to Chloe leaving her place behind her on the bed and regretting even saying anything. "Where are we going?"

"Third floor." Chloe opened the door and raised her eyebrows at Beca, waiting for her to get up.

Beca rolled her eyes and sat to pull on her shoes. "Third floor of this building?"

"Yup." Chloe pushed Beca out of her room and closed the door, leading the way to the stairs and up to the third floor. She stopped in front of a seemingly random door and knocked, crossing her arms in front of herself.

Beca stared at her confused. She didn't know who lived in this room or why they were here but she had a bad feeling about it.

Stacie opened the door and smiled at them after a couple of seconds of confusion. "Hi, guys. What's up?"

"We need your help."

Beca looked at Stacie and then at Chloe. "Stacie?"

"Yes, Stacie." Chloe rolled her eyes at Beca and looked back at Stacie. "Can we come in?" Stacie shrugged and stepped aside letting them in.

"Why Stacie?" Beca asked and Chloe threw her a look.

Stacie motioned at her bed and they sat, Stacie took her desk chair and sat sideways crossing her legs. "What do you need?"

"You like Aubrey, right?"

Stacie's ears turned red and she had her mouth open for a while before she could speak again. "Ye-Yeah, I mean, I like all of you."

"No, but do you like like her?"

"What?" Beca shrieked beside her.

Stacie's eyes widened and her blush extended to her cheeks. Chloe glared at Beca again. "It's pretty obvious."

"It is?" Beca asked still shocked.

Stacie bit her lip and looked at Chloe with a panicked expression. "Do you think she knows?"

Beca whipped her head at Stacie. "It's true?"

Chloe took a deep breath and decided to ignore Beca, shaking her head. "She's just as oblivious as Beca. But she likes you too, except she's been too stressed to even think about doing anything about it."

"She does?" Stacie smiled and looked so hopeful that even Beca thought it was cute.

"Yes, and she needs a distraction before she projectile vomits on all of us." Beca scrunched up her nose in disgust. "And there's no better distraction than love." Chloe smiled and kissed Beca.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, no one said anything about love." Stacie stood up and shook her head vehemently. "I mean, I like her and all, but no."

Chloe snapped her attention back to Stacie. "Right, maybe love isn't the right word to use yet."

"Or ever…" Stacie mumbled, crossing her arms and frowning. "I don't know, Chloe, what do you want me to do?"

Chloe's smile widened and Beca knew that smile never meant anything good.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Stacie glanced nervously at the fuming blonde across the room. Rehearsal hadn't gone so well and Aubrey had ended it early before she actually murdered someone.

"Do you want to ask her out in that mood? Trust me, this will work."

Beca looked at Aubrey. "I don't know, Chlo, she looks pretty pissed."

Stacie nodded anxiously. Chloe grabbed Stacie's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Stacie, are you going to let me down? Let the whole team down? Aubrey needs you to do this. Are you a pussy?" Stacie shook her head. "Then go get your girl. What happened to 'he's a hunter'?" She turned her around and gave her a little push towards Aubrey. "Go hunt."

Stacie stumbled forward a few steps before regaining her balance and making her way towards Aubrey's back, wincing when the blonde turned the page on her binder with a little too much force. She stopped behind her and took a deep breath to calm her nerves before calling her name.

Aubrey turned around and Stacie felt her confidence return when she noticed Aubrey's gaze soften marginally when she saw it was her. "Did you need something, Stacie?"

Stacie didn't say anything, taking instead a step forward and reaching out to grab Aubrey's waist. She pressed her lips firmly against Aubrey's and she felt her freeze. She kissed her again, and was seriously starting to doubt the logic behind this plan, when she felt Aubrey's lips move against her own and return the kiss. She smiled, her other hand moving to cup Aubrey's cheek, and took a step closer kissing Aubrey more insistently.

Aubrey's hands moved up to Stacie's shoulders keeping her close, her lips matching Stacie's kisses eagerly now. She bit Stacie's lower lip and tugged on it as she pulled back with an amused grin. "What was that for?"

Stacie smiled back and pecked her lips one more time before responding. "You looked like you needed it. Want to grab dinner?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

Stacie bit her lip and nodded. "Chloe seems to think we like each other and that it would be good for us to go out."

Aubrey looked behind Stacie and saw Chloe and Beca still standing by the door. Chloe gave her a thumbs up and Aubrey rolled her eyes. "And what do you think?"

"I think we should at least give it a try." She leaned forward and pecked her lips a few times. "And I think I won't be able to stop doing that now that I've started."

Aubrey scratched the back of Stacie's neck softly. "We wouldn't want to disappoint Chloe." Stacie's eyes lit up and Aubrey could feel the knot that had been tied up in her stomach since last year's finals start to loosen up. She kissed Stacie again just because she could and smiled. "Let's go."


	22. Eskimo Kiss

Stacie ran into Beca's room and closed the door, looking around to make sure Kimmy Jin wasn't there and walking to where Beca was seated. She stood behind her and pulled one side of her headphones off her ear. "Beca!"

Beca jumped and wrenched away, getting tangled in her headphones. "What the fuck, Stacie!" Stacie would have laughed at Beca's attempts to free herself from her headphones if she wasn't so agitated. "What do you want?"

"Aubrey kissed me."

"What?" Beca dropped her headphones on her laptop and returned to her chair. "What do you mean she kissed you? How? Why?"

"I mean, she didn't really kiss me. It was more of an eskimo kiss."

Beca frowned confused. "An eskimo kiss?"

"Yeah, we touched noses." Stacie bit her lip.

"You touched noses? That's… that's not a kiss."

"It would have been if Chloe hadn't walked in!" Stacie threw herself on her back on Beca's bed. "And then she practically kicked me out of her apartment so I don't know what it means."

"What were you even doing there in the first place?"

Stacie shrugged. "Sometimes we hang out."

"You hang out with Aubrey? Why didn't I know about this?" Beca grabbed a pillow and hit Stacie with it.

"Because I knew you wouldn't understand. She's nice." Beca grumbled something and Stacie glared at her. "See, I don't know why I'm even telling you this!"

"No, I'm sorry, Stace. I'm sure Aubrey can be nice to people if she wants to. I mean, Chloe likes her so she can't be all bad."

"She's not bad at all, you just haven't cared about getting to know her."

"That-" Beca nodded. "Is true. But anyway, you were hanging out and then? How did you get to the eskimo kiss?"

"We were on her couch watching something on TV, it was just background noise, and we were talking and then, I don't know, she leaned in and I leaned in and our noses touched." Stacie covered her face with her hands. "And then stupid Chloe came in and now I don't know what to do."

Beca looked at Stacie for a while. She felt bad that Stacie hadn't told her about her hang outs with Aubrey, especially since it was clear she liked the blonde a lot, but she knew it was her own fault. She had never given Aubrey a chance or given Stacie any indication she wouldn't react badly to this.

"Did you want to kiss her?"

"Of course I did! She's funny and gorgeous and smart." She threw a pillow at Beca's skeptical look. "I like her, Becs."

"Then go tell her." Beca threw the pillow back at her.

"She kicked me out! She clearly regrets almost kissing me." She pressed the pillow to her face and whimpered.

Beca poked Stacie's leg until she moved the pillow away from her face. "Maybe she's just freaking out about it because she likes you too." Stacie pouted and hid under her pillow again. "I'm serious! Aubrey isn't exactly the most openly friendly person, if she's letting you see this side of her it's because she likes you."

A knock on the door startled them. Stacie peeked at Beca from under the pillow and arched an eyebrow. Beca shrugged and then there was another knock. "Beca, is Stacie in there? She wasn't in her room."

Stacie frowned and stood up, walking to the door and opening it. "Aubrey?"

"Hi." Aubrey smiled nervously at her. "I'm sorry I made you leave earlier."

Stacie looked down and shrugged. "It's fine."

"No, it's not." Aubrey tilted Stacie's chin up. "I should have finished this."

She leaned forward and touched her nose to Stacie's. Stacie smiled and lifted her hand to Aubrey's shoulder and twirled the ends of her hair waiting for her to make the next move. Aubrey tilted her head up and kissed Stacie's lips gently, the hand on her chin moving back to tangle in her hair. Stacie moved closer and deepened the kiss, her tongue smoothing over Aubrey's lip and pulling her closer.

Beca cleared her throat behind them making them pull apart. Aubrey kept her arms around Stacie and looked over her shoulder at Beca.

"Guys, I love that this turned out okay, but can you go make out somewhere else?" Stacie grinned and turned Aubrey around, pushing her into Beca's room and onto her bed immediately capturing her lips. "Stacie! Come on, not on my bed!" Stacie bit down on Aubrey's lip making her moan. "Dudes, for serious! Stop it!"

Stacie's hands moved to Aubrey's waist and her fingers moved under the hem. Aubrey giggled and pushed Stacie off, sitting up and wiping her bottom lip with her hand. "Sorry, Beca. We'll leave."

"My room's closest." She pulled Aubrey to her feet. "Bye, Becs, thanks for everything!"


	23. Internet Dating

“Chloe, I don’t want to do this!” Aubrey whined, sitting down on the couch next to Chloe with a popcorn bowl. “I thought we were going to watch a movie.”

“We were, but this is more important. You need to get out there, it’s been way too long since you broke up with-” She scrunched up her nose. “-what was her name?”

“Rose.”

“Right, well it’s time you jumped back in, dipped your toes, and what better way than online dating. Let’s see…” She started filling in Aubrey’s basic information.

“I don’t think internet dating is my thing, Chlo.”

Chloe waved her hand, ignoring Aubrey and kept filling out her information. “Do you want to meet guys, girls, or both?”

Aubrey tilted her head and thought about it for a second. “Statistically women are less likely to be serial killers so girls.”

Chloe chuckled and kept typing. Aubrey looked over her shoulder biting her lip, pointing out when something wasn’t exactly true, but Chloe claimed a little deviation from the truth was allowed.

When she was done, Chloe sat back and looked at Aubrey with a smile. “Now we need a few pictures.” She lifted her finger when Aubrey opened her mouth. “No, we can’t use your LinkedIn picture. We need one where you look cute, one where you look smart, and maybe we should throw in one in a bikini.”

She opened Aubrey’s photo cloud and went through her pictures, dragging three of them to the profile window. One of Aubrey reading a book by a window; one of Chloe hugging Aubrey’s neck, both of them with big smiles on their faces; and one of Aubrey lying on a towel on the beach.

She gave one final satisfied click and sat back. “Now we find someone you like!”

* * *

 

“I don’t need the internet to help me find a date, Beca. Have you seen me?” She gestured at herself and lay down on the couch, stretching out her legs and forcing Beca to lift her laptop to make room for her feet.

“You haven’t gone on a real date in ages. You said you were ready for this.”

“I didn’t mean online dating!”

Beca rolled her eyes and started going through Stacie’s pictures. “Do you have anything that’s not a selfie?”

Stacie pulled her feet back and crawled to Beca’s side. “What’s wrong with selfies?” She pointed at a picture. “Ooh I look hot in that one!”

“You can’t use that one, you’ll only get pervs. You need something that looks less…” Beca grimaced.

“Slutty?” Stacie chuckled. “Click on that folder.”

Beca nodded. “These are better.” She added a few to Stacie’s profile. “Okay, now we need to fill this up. What are you good at?”

“Sex.” Beca glared at her. “I don’t know! Math? Sudoku? Dancing? Memorizing song lyrics? Multiple orgasms?”

“I’ll skip that last one. Ideal first date?”

“Sex.”

“Come on, Stacie! You’re not even trying!” Beca shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t see how this-” She gestured at the screen. “-is going to lead to a relationship.”

“It won’t if you keep using sex as the answer to everything!”

Stacie rolled her eyes. “Fine! My ideal first date is one without awkward pauses; that when it ends I feel like it wasn’t enough and I can’t wait to do it again.”

“Aw, Stace, that’s so cute.”

Stacie elbowed her. “Shut up and type.”

* * *

 

“She looks cute!”

Aubrey twisted her lip and read the profile. “Under hobbies she wrote ‘turtle collection’. That’s not normal.”

“Okay,” Chloe scrolled down. “What about her?”

“Can you see those ear monstrosities? No.”

Chloe sighed and kept scrolling. “Oh, look! She looks perfect.” She clicked on the profile. “Her name is Stacie, she’s only a couple years younger, and she looks really pretty.”

Aubrey straightened up but tried not to look too excited. “She looks okay.”

Chloe smirked noticing Aubrey’s change in tone. “Look, she likes crossword puzzles and hiking.” She clicked on the pictures and scrolled through them. “She’s super hot! Okay, I’m liking her.”

“Wait, what does that mean?”

“You like her and, if she likes you back, you can message her.”

“Oh.” Aubrey bit her lip and stared at the screen. “How will I know if she liked me back?”

“It’ll send you a notification. Let’s find more people.” Chloe went back to the main page.

“Why? We found one already.”

Chloe chuckled. “Internet dating is a numbers game, you need more options in case they don’t like you back or they turn out to be weirdos.”

* * *

 

“Look, someone liked you already!”

Beca clicked on the notification and Stacie started to shake her head immediately. “No! What? No.”

“He doesn’t look that bad,” Beca said trying not to laugh.

Stacie glared at her and pointed at the picture. He was shirtless with a large tattoo that said ‘Amy, you bitch’ was visible on his chest. “I don’t want to join his chest art.”

Beca laughed and went back to Stacie’s notifications. Stacie already had a few likes and Beca clicked on each of them.

“These all suck. I told you this was a bad idea.” Stacie crossed her arms and leaned back.

“Dude, it’s been like fifteen minutes since I posted your profile. Chill.” A new notification popped up. “See, there’s a new one already.” Beca clicked on it and handed the laptop to Stacie. “I’m hungry, you want something?”

“Sure,” Stacie replied already distracted by the profile.

By the time Beca came back holding a couple of sandwiches, Stacie was still reading it with a small smile on her face. Beca looked at the screen, smirking when she saw hadn’t clicked away. “Like her back!”

“I don’t know, Becs.”

“Why not? She’s hot, she has an incredibly long list of boring books she loves, she doesn’t look that crazy.” Beca reached across and clicked the like button. “There.”

* * *

 

“She liked you back!” Chloe squealed.

Aubrey came back into the living room holding a glass of water and sat down next to Chloe. “Now what?”

“Now you say hi! Get to know her a bit, ask her out, fall in love, get married.”

“Just like that?” Aubrey took the computer and bit her lip. She opened the messaging window. “What should I write?”

“Hello. Wait, that’s too formal. Hey? Hi?”

There was a ding and Aubrey jumped. “She messaged me.”

“What did she say?” Chloe shook her arm.

“Hey, cute picture.” Aubrey smiled.

“Aww, that’s cute, she’s cute. Say something back.”

“I am! I will!” Aubrey pursed her lips and then started typing.

Chloe leaned on her shoulder trying to read the screen but Aubrey pushed her away. “Stop snooping.”

“Hey! I’m the reason there’s even something to snoop on.”

* * *

 

Stacie leaned back on the kitchen counter and took out her phone, opening up her text conversation with Aubrey.

_**Stacie [20:41]:** Hey, how did your meeting go?_

_**Aubrey [20:41]:** It was fine, I don’t think I’m getting the full budget approved but I guess it was good I highballed it. :)_

_**Stacie [20:42]:** I told you you had nothing to worry about!_

_**Aubrey [20:43]:** And I told you I was going to worry about it anyway. How was work?_

_**Stacie [20:45]:** Ugh, there’s a stupid potluck thing this weekend. I don’t know what I’m going to do about that, I’ll probably just buy something._

_**Aubrey [20:46]:** :O You can’t buy something, you have to cook._

_**Stacie [20:46]:** You know I can’t cook._

_**Aubrey [20:48]:** I don’t believe that, it’s just following instructions. You work in a lab, you know how to follow a recipe._

_**Stacie [20:48]:** It’s not the same, I always screw up!_

_**Aubrey [20:50]:** What if I tell you how to do it. I can teach you to make some baked cannelloni, it’s super easy._

_**Stacie [20:52]:** You say super easy, but when everyone in my office hates me because I tried to poison them, I’m blaming you._

_**Aubrey [20:53]:** No one’s gonna hate you. I’ll send you the list of things you’ll need. When’s your potluck?_

_**Stacie [20:53]:** Saturday afternoon._

_**Aubrey [20:54]:** Call me in the morning and I’ll talk you through it, okay?_

_**Stacie [20:54]:** Alright._

The front door closed and Beca walked into the kitchen. “Hey.” Stacie looked up from her phone and nodded at her. “Texting your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend, we’re… text buddies.”

Beca opened the fridge and took out some leftover Chinese. “That’s not a thing. Why haven’t you asked her out again?”

Stacie bit her lip. They’d exchanged numbers shortly after they started talking. Stacie had asked Aubrey out but she had to go to London for work and Stacie had a conference in LA right after she got back. They texted constantly, but it had been a week since they were both back and neither had mentioned going out again.

“I don’t know, it just hasn’t come up.” Stacie shrugged and pushed off the counter. “I’m going to bed.”

* * *

 

Aubrey looked at her phone on the coffee table nervously. She had never actually spoken to Stacie and she was nervous about it. They were great with texting, but she had time to think about her responses then. Talking was more immediate.

She jumped when the phone rang, picking it up after the third ring. “Hey.”

“Hey, hot stuff!” Stacie replied and Aubrey chuckled, immediately forgetting why she was nervous. “Sorry, that sounded less lame in my head.”

Aubrey exhaled another chuckle. “Did you get everything from the list?”

“I did. And I grated the cheese and chopped everything that needed to be chopped.”

“Good. Okay so what you wanna do first is preheat the oven to 375 degrees.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Hey, Bree.”

“Yes, Stace?”

“You have a really nice voice.”

Aubrey smiled and felt herself blushing. “You have a really nice voice too.”

After a few seconds she heard Stacie clear her throat. “Okay, the oven is on. What’s next?”

Aubrey explained the recipe. It was very simple, mostly just mixing everything together, rolling it up in pasta, and putting it in the oven. Aubrey assumed Stacie would hang up when she put the cannelloni in the oven but she stayed on. Aubrey found that talking on the phone was just as easy as texting but with the added bonus of getting to listen to her voice.

She lay back on the couch, her mouth curved up in a smile the whole time. She felt like she was back in high school talking to her crush after school. Except this was starting to feel like more than a crush.

“Where did you learn to cook?”

“I used to help my mom sometimes. And Chloe and I like cooking so we’ve learned a few things from each other.”

Stacie hummed. “You should cook for me sometime.”

Aubrey bit her lip, her heart pounding in her chest nervously. “Yeah, I should.”

She heard the timer go off and Stacie’s voice sounded a little different when she spoke. “I should go. I still need to get ready for this thing.”

“Okay, let me know how everything goes.”

“I will. Thanks, Bree.”

“Anytime, Stace.”

Aubrey ended the call, not moving from her position on the couch. She felt like she had missed an opportunity to ask Stacie out, but she didn’t really know where they stood. Stacie had asked her out a couple of weeks after they started talking, but with her trip and then Stacie’s, they had limited themselves to texting over the next two weeks.

They got comfortable with each other very fast. As soon as they had covered the basics, they had moved on to other things ranging from their favorite movie as a child to things Aubrey hadn’t told anyone aside from Chloe, and things Stacie wouldn’t admit to anyone else.

Part of what had made it easier for Aubrey to open up to had been the nature of their relationship. Stacie didn’t feel real most of the time. She was just this super cute, super smart, string of characters. Even after one afternoon when Stacie had been bored and sent her a bunch of silly selfies, and made Aubrey send her a couple in return, the fact that they hadn’t met yet made Aubrey feel like she could be honest with Stacie and not disappoint her. And even if she did, losing Stacie’s texts wouldn’t be as hard as losing her if they had gone out already.

She had been waiting for Stacie to bring up going out again, but when she didn’t she figured she had lost interest, or she had met someone else. They both still had their profiles posted on the dating site, which Aubrey hadn’t checked since she exchanged numbers with Stacie, but she didn’t know if Stacie was still using it.

She knew she couldn’t stay like this for long. Her stomach flipped every time she got a text from Stacie, and she had caught herself looking at the pictures she’d sent her more than a few times. Now that she had heard her voice, she couldn’t wait to talk to her again. And the thought of Stacie meeting someone else made her nauseous.

She got up from the couch and walked defeatedly to Chloe’s room, flopping down next to her on the bed. “I’m an idiot.”

Chloe looked up from her computer and arched an eyebrow at her. “What happened?”

“Stacie said something that was the perfect segue to ask her out and I choked.”

Chloe patted the back of her head. “Maybe you should just ask her out and stop waiting for a sign or whatever it is that you’re waiting for.”

Aubrey shook her head. “What if she says no?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. She didn’t understand how someone as confident as Aubrey could be so insecure when it came to the people she liked. “She won’t, she wouldn’t be texting you round the clock if she wasn’t interested.”

“It’s not round the clock,” Aubrey mumbled.

Chloe poked her. “Ask her out.”

* * *

 

Stacie took a picture of her finished cannelloni and sent it to Aubrey, smiling when she got a reply almost immediately.

_**Aubrey [12:14]:** They look great. I knew you could do it. :)_

_**Stacie [12:16]:** It was all you. ;)_

Stacie put her phone in her purse and carried everything to the car. She checked her phone when she got to her destination, frowning when she didn’t have a text from Aubrey. She wondered if the winky face had been too much, but Stacie had always been flirty with Aubrey, but she started doubting herself after she got back from her trip and Aubrey didn’t bring up meeting.

She had been close to asking her out herself, but she had never been so afraid of being rejected as she was now. She didn’t know if she had taken too long, maybe Aubrey only saw her as a friend now. That feeling got stronger after she gave Aubrey the perfect opening to ask her out and she danced around it.

She spent most of the time at the potluck checking her phone, hoping for a text from Aubrey that never came. She barely paid attention to her coworkers or the food, and every time someone dragged her into a conversation, her hand itched to take out her phone.

She kept imagining feeling it vibrate in her pocket, the disappointment when she saw it hadn’t been real getting bigger with each passing minute. She ended up only staying as long as she had to, making some lame excuse that she was sure no one believed, but she didn’t care.

She drove back home and went straight to her room, not wanting to run into Beca and have the same conversation for the millionth time. She sat down on her bed, staring at her phone in her hands for what felt like an eternity until she made up her mind and called Aubrey’s phone.

“Hey, is it over already? How did it go? Did they like it?”

Stacie smiled despite herself at the onslaught of questions. “They loved it. Now they’re going to want me to cook every time there’s an event.”

“I’m sorry.” Aubrey laughed and Stacie’s heart skipped at the sound. She still wasn’t used to hearing it and it was her new favorite thing. “Did you at least have fun?”

“It was-” Stacie thought about lying for a second but she hadn’t been anything but completely honest with Aubrey so far, and she didn’t want to start telling her half truths now. “I didn’t have fun, no. I was a bit distracted.”

“Oh.”

Stacie took a deep breath. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She waited in silence as she let her words sink in. She was starting to think Aubrey wasn’t going to say anything when she spoke again. “Stace, do you want to go out?”

Stacie beamed. “Yes.”

* * *

 

Stacie broke the kiss, her lips lingering against Aubrey’s a moment longer before taking a step back. “I had a great time.”

Aubrey smiled and scratched her nails softly over the back of Stacie’s neck. “Me too.”

Stacie leaned down and Aubrey met her halfway this time. She could still taste the wine they’d had with dinner, a fruity Merlot that she’d remember for the rest of her life now.

Aubrey stepped back, her hand moving to the doorknob even though she was still trading playful kisses with Stacie. She placed one final peck on Stacie’s lips and opened the door a fraction. “Text me when you get home.”

Stacie nodded and took a step back, immediately missing Aubrey’s closeness. She thought back to what she’d written on her profile about her ideal first date and smiled. This definitely didn’t feel like it had been enough and she couldn’t wait to do it again.


	24. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for kidnapping and small spaces.

 

_Aubrey looked at the two other girls in the room. She had seen them both at auditions earlier, the redhead had been good, but she didn't understand what the other girl was doing here, she was pitchy and uncoordinated. The redhead smiled at her and waved from her seat across the room. The other girl paced nervously between Aubrey and the redhead._

" _Do you know what this is about? Did we get in?" The redhead shrugged and bit her thumbnail. The other girl kept pacing frantically, shooting annoyed glances at both of them. "This is not how it's supposed to go. They're supposed to blindfold us and take us to the auditorium to take the oath before the party."_

_Aubrey and the redhead shared a look. "I'm sure they'll come get us soon," Aubrey said standing up and walking towards the other girls. "I'm Aubrey."_

" _Chloe." The redhead looked up with a bright smile._

_The other girl looked at them and rolled her eyes. "Julia," she grumbled._

_The door opened behind them and all three girls turned around. The captain of the Bellas walked in followed by two other Bellas. They stopped in front of them, the captain putting her arms behind her back and smiling. "You three have been chosen to join the Bellas." Chloe squealed and shook Aubrey's arm. "However, we only have two open spots on the team, which means that you're going to have to prove yourselves."_

" _Prove ourselves? How?"_

_Julia cleared her throat. "I'm a legacy, I shouldn't have to compete with them."_

" _The fact that you're a legacy is the only reason you're still here." The Bellas' captain said coldly. "We'll meet you back at the auditorium in an hour."_

_She turned around and left, followed closely by the other girls who hadn't said anything. Once they were gone Julia stepped out, bumping into Aubrey's shoulder as she passed her._

_Chloe moved next to her. "What's her problem?"_

_Aubrey shrugged not really worried about her. "Do you want to hang out until we have to be there?"_

_Chloe grinned and hooked her arm around Aubrey's. "I have a feeling we're gonna be best friends."_

* * *

Aubrey woke up with a start. Her head hurt and her tongue felt heavy, like her mouth was filled with cotton balls. She swallowed thickly. She couldn't see anything, wherever she was, it was dark and damp and cold. She rolled onto her back, the cold hard wood on her back groaning under her weight.

She lifted her arm but it hit something above her. She frowned and lifted her hand slowly until she reached the obstruction again. Her breathing started getting more labored as she ran her hand over the flat surface until she reached the edge on one side and then the other.

She was trapped inside some kind of box. Her breathing got even faster when she realized this. She kicked her legs up and pounded with her fists, screaming for help. She didn't stop until her knuckles were raw and her screams turned into sobs.

She drew in a few labored breaths trying to calm herself down, knowing that this wasn't going to help. She closed her eyes and felt around herself trying to gauge the dimensions of the box. She scooted down until she felt the edge with her feet and stretched her arms over her head until she touched the opposite side.

The box was about a foot longer than herself, around three feet across and a foot high. She wouldn't have oxygen for long. She tried to remember Stacie's rant from a few days ago about the inaccuracies in a show they were watching where a car fell into a lake. A person breathes at a rate of around 5 liters per minute, more if they're distressed, which she was. The box had a volume of around 540 liters of air which meant she had almost two hours of oxygen, less if she didn't calm down.

She tried to slow down her breaths and calm down to give herself more time, but more time for what? No one knew where she was, she didn't even know if anyone knew she was missing or how long she'd been missing. She could've been unconscious for a while. She could only have minutes left.

* * *

" _Beale, you're first!"_

_Aubrey squeezed Chloe's hand and gave her a reassuring smile. "Good luck."_

_Chloe squeezed her hand back before walking inside behind the girl who was sent to pick her up. Aubrey bit her lip nervously and watched as the door closed behind them. She turned back, frowning when she saw Julia's sarcastic smirk._

" _How cute. You bonded." She chuckled. "It's too bad that only one of you is getting into the Bellas."_

" _You're very sure of yourself, aren't you?"_

" _I'm a legacy." She stepped up to Aubrey trying to intimidate her. "This is just to see which one of you they keep."_

_Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Yeah? Well for a legacy, you're a pretty crappy singer."_

_Julia's jaw dropped and Aubrey turned around. She started walking down the hall towards the bathroom trying to get away from the other girl while she waited for her turn, but she followed her._

" _Who the fuck do you think you are?"_

_Aubrey looked at her over her shoulder but didn't stop. "Someone with ears?"_

_Julia grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall. "Listen, bitch, I've been hearing about being a Bella my entire life. I will get in and I will be captain someday. It's my birthright."_

_Aubrey wasn't one to be easily intimidated. She wasn't a stranger to bullies and she knew how to deal with them. She straightened up and shrugged her off. "I'm glad you're so confident. You shouldn't have a problem getting in then. Despite your limitations."_

* * *

"Babe, I'm back!" Stacie yelled from the door, dropping her book bag and walking to the living room.

"Stacie, I told you not to call me that in front of Aubrey. She'll get jealous." Chloe winked at her from the couch making her chuckle. "Where's Aubrey?"

Stacie tilted her head confused. "Here? Is she in her room?"

Chloe frowned. "I thought she was with you. I haven't seen her since rehearsal."

"I had a study group meeting, she said she'd be here." Stacie walked towards Aubrey's room. "Are you sure you didn't miss her?"

Aubrey's room was empty. Stacie took out her phone and called Aubrey, shaking her head and putting it back in her pocket when it went straight to voicemail. "It goes to voicemail."

She started pacing around the living room worrying her lower lip with her teeth. Chloe looked at her from the couch with a frown. "Maybe she went somewhere else, I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Stacie shook her head. "She would've told me. Something's wrong."

"Her phone probably died. I'm sure everything's fine, Stace."

"No, she always charges it during rehearsal." Stacie looked at Chloe with a worried expression. "It's been almost four hours, Chlo. She should be back now even if she went somewhere else, or she would've at least told me or you where she was."

Chloe reached out and pulled her down to the couch next to her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm. "What did you do after rehearsal? Did you have a fight or something?"

"No. We stayed in the auditorium making out for a bit and then I went to the library. She told me to meet her here, she was going to make dinner."

Chloe frowned. Aubrey wouldn't have made dinner plans and bailed on them without letting Stacie know. "Okay, let's go look for her. I'll go to the diner across campus and you go to the coffee place by the auditorium." Chloe squeezed her arm. "We'll find her."

* * *

_Aubrey was wiping the dry erase board when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She smiled and leaned back. "Hey, babe."_

" _Hey." Stacie nuzzled her neck and placed a kiss there, tightening her arms around her._

_Aubrey chuckled and squirmed when Stacie's hand slipped inside her shirt. "No sex here."_

" _You didn't say that the other day when I had you pinned against the piano."_

_Aubrey whimpered. "You have to be at the library soon."_

" _I can be late," Stacie whispered in a low voice and started nibbling on her neck._

_Aubrey turned around and kissed Stacie, pushing her back towards one of the chairs behind them. Stacie fell onto the chair and looked up at Aubrey with an amused smirk but Aubrey shook her head. "You always complain when people are late. You shouldn't do that to them."_

" _I can stay five more minutes and not be late."_

_Aubrey smiled and straddled Stacie's lap. "We can't do much in five minutes."_

_Stacie ran her nails up the side of her neck and pulled her down for a kiss. Aubrey took Stacie's bottom lip into her mouth, biting down and tugging it with a moan. She held Stacie's chin, holding herself up with her other hand on Stacie's shoulder and kissed her deeply, rocking her hips on her lap. Stacie's hands moved up her legs to her lower back pulling her closer._

_Aubrey slowed down the kiss, her fingers caressing Stacie's jaw softly. "Want to come over for dinner after your meeting? I'll cook."_

" _I won't be done until after eight."_

" _It's okay, I'll wait." Aubrey pecked her lips and scooted back. "Gives me time to finish my Econ essay."_

_Stacie buried her face in Aubrey's chest and moaned. "I love you."_

_Aubrey chuckled and patted the back of her head. "Are you talking to me or to my boobs?"_

" _Boobs." Stacie lifted her head and grinned. "I love you too."_

" _Yeah, yeah." Aubrey stood up and smacked her arm._

_Stacie grabbed her things and kissed Aubrey's cheek. "See you later, baby."_

" _Hey," Aubrey reached out to grab her wrist and kissed her softly. "I love you."_

_Stacie blushed lightly, as she did when Aubrey caught her by surprise, and a smile lit up her face. She kissed Aubrey one last time. "I love you."_

_Aubrey watched Stacie walk out with a small smile on her face. She turned around and walked back to the board to finish wiping it clean, smiling to herself as she thought about what she was going to cook for dinner later._

_She heard the door again and rolled her eyes. "Stacie, you're gonna be late. I'll see you back at the apartment later."_

" _I'm not Stacie."_

_Aubrey turned around startled and looked at the girl standing by the door. She looked vaguely familiar and Aubrey smiled tentatively. "Hi, sorry. I thought you were someone else. Can I help you with something?"_

" _You don't recognize me, do you?" The girl got closer but Aubrey still didn't know who she was._

" _I'm sorry, I don't. Are you in one of my classes?"_

_The girl chuckled and shook her head. "No, we met a while ago." She kept getting closer until she was in front of Aubrey. "When you auditioned for the Bellas?"_

_Aubrey tilted her head and frowned. A second later she remembered and nodded. "Oh yeah." She took a step back and went to grab her purse. "You should've auditioned this year, we needed people."_

" _Yeah, I heard you puked all over the place in last year's finals." She scoffed. "I can't believe they made you captain. But I guess they didn't have another choice."_

_Aubrey turned around. "Look, I'm sorry you didn't get in four years ago, but it wasn't really my fault."_

" _You psyched me out before the audition. I would've gotten that spot if it wasn't for you, and now you're dragging the Bellas' name through the mud."_

_Aubrey rolled her eyes. "It was four years ago. Let it go." She crossed her arms. "And I'm trying to fix it, we're going to get to Lincoln Center and win the ICCA." She started to walk around her. "I'll send you a ticket."_

_She had just gotten past her when she felt her press something over her mouth and nose, her arm holding her by the waist. She tried to kick her but she was stronger than her. She thrashed and kicked down a few chairs. Her purse fell from her shoulder and its contents spilled all over the floor. And then everything went black._

* * *

"She's not at the coffee place, are you at the diner yet?" Stacie said into her phone as she crossed the street.

"Just leaving. She's not here either," Chloe replied, her tone now matching Stacie's nervousness. "Didn't you say she had an essay to finish? Maybe she went to the library and lost track of time. I'll check, I'm closer."

"Okay, check the-"

"Third floor, second table in front of the window. I know."

Stacie almost smiled at Aubrey's predictability. "She sometimes sits on the first floor if that table's too crowded. She likes having enough space to spread out."

"Stacie, I've known Aubrey longer than you. I know."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "I'm going back to the auditorium and see if she stayed there for some reason."

"Okay, I'll call you if I find her."

"Thanks, Chlo."

Stacie hung up and hurried to the arts building. It took her a while to find the light switch once she got to the auditorium, blinking a couple of times once she did to adjust to to the brightness. She frowned as soon as she saw it, her hand fumbling towards her phone blindly.

"Hey, I'm just getting to the library. Did you-"

"Chloe, you need to get here now." Stacie tried to keep her voice calm but Chloe heard a slight tremble.

"What happened, Stace? Is Aubrey there?" Chloe stopped at the bottom of the steps of the library.

"Chloe, please just come here."

"Oh- okay, I'm on my way." Chloe hung up the phone, hesitating for a second in front of the library doors before she turned back around and headed for the arts building.

She tried to not think about what Stacie had found that had her so shaken up, but her mind was already skipping to the worst possible options. The only thing that was keeping her from an outright panic attack was that Stacie would have told her what was wrong if it was really bad. Still, she practically ran across campus, taking a shortcut through the back of the new arts building that was still under construction.

She was so distracted that she ran into someone exiting the construction site through a side door and practically knocked them down. Chloe yelped and held the other person by the shoulders to keep them from falling.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." She paused when she got a look at the person in front of her. "Julia?"

The other girl's eyes widened. "Chloe."

Chloe smiled at her briefly before she remembered why she was running. "I'm in a hurry, but we should totes catch up soon."

Chloe dashed away before the other girl even had a chance to reply. She burst through the door and ran inside.

"Stacie, what-" Chloe stopped mid sentence, her mouth settling into a round O as she looked around the room. A few of the chairs had fallen over and it looked like Aubrey had thrown her purse up in the air, everything inside it littering the floor.

Stacie was sitting in one of the chairs and looked up at Chloe. Her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks were wet. She held something up in her hand. "I found Aubrey's phone."

Chloe stepped closer. The screen looked like someone had stepped on it.

"I called the campus police, they should be here soon." Stacie sniffed and looked back down at Aubrey's phone. Chloe hurried to her side when her shoulders started shaking, wrapping her arm around her.

Stacie turned her head and sobbed against Chloe's shirt. "Where is she?"

Chloe swallowed the knot in her throat, she felt like crying too, but someone needed to stay calm for Aubrey's sake. "I don't know, but we'll find her." Chloe tried to sound like she believed it but she wasn't so sure it was true.

A couple of men from the campus police arrived a few minutes later looking absolutely useless in their khakis and Barden polo shirts. One of them looked around the room, jotting things down in a pad while the other one tried to talk to Stacie. After not getting much from Stacie over her sobs, he turned to Chloe and started walking to the door away from Stacie. The other guy closed his notepad with an air of finality and joined them.

"Look, we can't really do anything yet other than make a report. She's only been missing for a few hours, this could all turn out to be a prank." He looked at Stacie briefly and turned back to Chloe. "Call again if she's not back by tomorrow afternoon."

Chloe watched them leave and returned to Stacie's side. She was still sniffling softly and wasn't even bothering to wipe away the tears that kept streaming down her face.

"What did they say?" She sounded tiny and broken, and, for the first time since she started dating Aubrey, Chloe realized how young Stacie really was.

Chloe sighed and took her hand squeezing it tightly and pulling her closer. "They said it's too early to do anything. That it might be a prank."

Stacie lifted her head from her shoulder and looked at her. "Do you think the Trebles did this?"

Chloe shook her head. "This is too much, even for Bumper."

Stacie looked like she was going to stop crying for a second but her face crumbled and she started again, holding on to Chloe tightly and almost tipping her over. "Who would do this, Chlo?"

Chloe had the feeling that she was missing something important. She couldn't think of anyone who would want to intentionally hurt Aubrey. She might be hard on the Bellas but she knew the rest of the girls respected her. And they all loved Stacie, they wouldn't hurt her like this. The rest of the teams didn't take Aubrey seriously enough after Pukegate to bother doing something to her. Not even the former Bellas cared enough to do this. Besides, they had all graduated. There was no one left in barden that still cared about the Bellas outside of the Bellas except… "Julia."

"What?" Stacie stopped her blubbering and looked at Chloe.

Chloe grabbed Stacie by the shoulders and moved her away. "I think I know who did this and I think I might know where Aubrey is."

She started walking out and Stacie looked at her confused for a few seconds before running to catch up. "What?"

Chloe turned and took her hand, dragging her behind her. "When I was on my way here I bumped into someone. She was leaving the new arts building."

"But that's not open yet," Stacie said confused.

"Exactly!" Chloe kept pulling Stacie until they got to the door where she saw Julia come out of. It wasn't even a real door, it was just a piece of wood in between the boards they were using to keep students out of the construction zone.

Chloe let go of Stacie's hand and pulled on the door. It wasn't locked but it took a couple of tugs to get it open. "Come on."

She went in and Stacie followed her cautiously. Chloe had taken out her phone and was using it as a flashlight to navigate around beams and rubble. The construction was still in its very early stages and there were building materials all over the place.

"Chlo," Stacie whispered. "Who did you run into? Why would she bring Aubrey here?"

"Julia. She auditioned for the Bellas our freshman year. She was a bitch and she couldn't sing to save her life but her mom was a Bella so she got a call back with Aubrey and me. They only had two spots though so she didn't get in." Chloe looked around for a clue of where Aubrey could be but it was really hard with just the light from her phone. "I had a class with her last year. She didn't talk to me all semester, she just glared at me. It was creepy."

"I bet." Stacie stumbled behind her. "And you think she did something to Aubrey?"

"Why else would she be coming out of here this late?" Chloe knew it was a long shot but it was the only clue they had. "Maybe we should split up."

Stacie nodded and took out her phone. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for or what Chloe was expecting to find. She didn't want to think about what that girl could have done to Aubrey or why she brought her here, she just needed to find her.

"Over here!" Stacie heard Chloe's voice behind her and she ran as fast as she could towards it.

They had started digging on this side already and Chloe was standing in the middle of a big hole, the only thing Stacie could see was the beam from her phone's flashlight.

Chloe looked up when she heard Stacie. "There's a box here, thought I heard something inside. See if you can find something to pry it open."

Stacie turned around to try to find something. There were huge beams and some boards but she didn't see any tools lying around. She was starting to panic and she stopped and took a deep breath to calm down and force herself to think. Aubrey needed her, she had to stop acting like a stupid, scared girl and help the girl she loved.

She grabbed a board and leaned it against a beam, kicking it hard a few times until a piece broke off. She grabbed it and ran back to Chloe, stumbling down the hole. She stopped next to the box. It didn't make sense for a box to be down there, but she couldn't hear anything coming from inside. She wasn't sure if she wanted Chloe to be wrong, but either way they had to look.

She gave the piece of board to Chloe and pulled on the lid of the box as hard as she could so Chloe could slide the board into the gap. The rough wood was digging painfully into her palms and she didn't think she could pull it any further, but then she heard a thump.

She gasped and her grip slipped for a second. It was faint, barely louder than the creaking of the wood, but it had clearly come from inside the box. A sob tried to make its way up her chest but she pushed it down. She needed all of her strength for this, she couldn't start crying again.

"Bree! We're here!" Chloe yelled.

Stacie pulled on the lid harder, ignoring the pain in her hands until Chloe was finally able to get the board into the opening. Chloe pushed down on the board while Stacie kept pulling on the lid. She could see the nails closest to the board starting to slide out and there was soon a sizeable gap between the lid and the top of the box.

They heard a cough from inside the box. Stacie and Chloe exchanged a look. "Aubrey!"

Chloe helped Stacie with the lid and a huge chunk came off sending Stacie stumbling back. Stacie threw it to the side and crouched down next to the box, reaching inside and helping Aubrey to sit up.

Aubrey held on to her tightly and took big gasping breaths while Stacie rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm here, baby. You're okay."

Chloe stepped forward and squeezed Aubrey's arm. Aubrey tore her face away from Stacie's neck and looked at her, taking her hand and squeezing it hard.

Aubrey put her head on Stacie's shoulder and closed her eyes.

* * *

Aubrey woke up startled and sat up on the bed. She was sweating and she could feel her heart racing. She ran the back of her hand across her forehead and tried to take a few deep breaths in an attempt to relax. She felt the bed shift next to her and Stacie's hand landed on her back moving slowly.

"Nightmare?" Stacie asked.

Aubrey nodded and lay down, hugging Stacie close. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

Stacie shook her head and kissed her temple. It had been a month since the incident and Aubrey had nightmares almost every night. She felt stupid about it. After Stacie and Chloe had taken her out, she noticed the box had a couple of holes on the side where her feet had been. They weren't big enough for the air to circulate when she was panicking, but they were enough to keep her from suffocating. The worst that could have happened was that she'd have to spend the night there until the construction crew found her the next day.

She hadn't wanted to press charges but Stacie and Chloe had convinced her to talk to the dean and Julia was expelled. She wasn't sure how she felt about her. She wasn't angry at her, she was mostly confused.

Stacie had been angry enough for everyone. Chloe had had to talk her out of going after her once she made sure Aubrey was okay. But Aubrey knew some of her anger was directed at herself. She had barely left her side since it happened and Aubrey could see how anxious she got when she had to leave her for some reason. She'd even skipped a few classes right after it happened but Aubrey had put a stop to that when she realized what Stacie was doing.

Aubrey hadn't talked about her nightmares with anyone, not even with Stacie even though she always asked if she wanted to talk about it, she just let Stacie hold her until she fell asleep again.

She felt Stacie's arms tighten around her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Aubrey was about to shake her head no but she was tired of feeling this way. She moved back and looked at Stacie, trying to figure out how awake she was. Stacie brushed back Aubrey's hair and waited, her hand moving down to the top of her arm.

"I thought I was going to die," Aubrey said quietly. "I woke up in a box. I didn't know how to get out and I figured I only had a couple of hours of oxygen and I thought I was going to die."

"You're okay. Nothing's gonna happen to you." Stacie tightened her arms around her. "She's gone."

"Sometimes when I'm lying in the dark, I feel like I'm back there, alone."

"Hey." Stacie brushed her cheek. "I'm here, you're not alone. I won't let anything happen to you."

Aubrey dropped back on top of Stacie and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "I know. It goes away when I feel you next to me."

Stacie moved her hands down Aubrey's back. "I'm always going to be here."

"Promise?" Aubrey's voice was barely above a whisper.

Stacie tilted Aubrey's chin up and kissed her softly. "Always."


	25. Pillow Fort

Aubrey frowned at her phone.

_**[Stacie 11:41]:**_ _Can't go to rehearsal. Sick._

Her first reaction was worry. She really hoped Stacie was okay, and she appreciated her skipping rehearsal if she was contagious. She preferred she missed one or two rehearsals, over all of them ending up catching whatever she had. But when she got to rehearsal she started to get suspicious.

She was getting ready to start when Cynthia Rose asked, "Where's Stacie?"

"She's sick, she sent me a text."

Fat Amy snorted. "Did she say sick or bedridden? Because she's in bed a lot."

"She said sick. And I want to believe none of you would lie to me just to skip rehearsal." She gave them a pointed look and everyone nodded. "Now, if you're done, I would like to start on time for once."

Everyone acquiesced and rehearsal went on as normal as it could without one of them, but the rest of the girls kept making jokes about Stacie faking being sick to skip rehearsal, which only fed Aubrey's suspicions.

She kept thinking about it on the walk back to her apartment with Chloe. She really wanted to believe Stacie hadn't lied to her. It wasn't like they were friends or anything, but they were friendly. She stopped at the steps that led up to their building, making Chloe turn back and arch an eyebrow at her.

"I'm gonna go check on Stacie in case she needs something, maybe get her some chicken soup."

Chloe's other eyebrow raised in surprise. "Are you really concerned or do you want to make sure she didn't lie?"

Aubrey smiled sheepishly. "Both?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if you get sick too, you can't come back to the apartment."

* * *

Stacie whimpered softly. She felt terrible; her nose was stuffy, her head was throbbing, her throat was sore and scratchy, and she was sure she had a fever. She was perfectly fine the previous day, she didn't get how she'd gotten this sick this fast.

She had thought about going to the student clinic but the thought of leaving her room made her want to cry. She was tangled in her favorite, softest blanket, curled up in the middle of her bed with the tissue overflowed trash can next to it.

She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. She hated feeling this way.

There was a knock on her door and she scowled. She wasn't going to get up for whoever that was, they could write a note on her board if they needed anything.

They knocked again and Stacie pulled a pillow over her head to drown them out.

"Stacie, open the door!" Aubrey's voice pierced through the pillow muffler.

Stacie lifted her head, knowing Aubrey wouldn't just leave a note, and, with great effort, scooted to the edge of the bed. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and stood up a little bit shakily, making her way to the door.

Aubrey knocked again.

"I'm coming." She knew Aubrey probably hadn't heard her but she couldn't raise her voice too much. She opened the door and leaned on it. "What?"

Aubrey bit her lip trying to not laugh at Stacie's disheveled state. She was relieved Stacie hadn't lied but, "You look terrible."

Stacie scoffed. "Thanks. Is that all?"

Aubrey seemed to remember the container in her hand and lifted it with a sympathetic smile. "I brought you soup."

Stacie hesitated before smiling at her. She reached out shakily. "Thanks, Bree. You didn't have to."

Aubrey thought about just giving her the soup and leaving but she really didn't look well, so instead she took her hand and led her inside. "Come on, get back in bed."

Stacie didn't have the energy to fight Aubrey so she let herself be led back to bed. Stacie's hand felt clammy in Aubrey's.

Aubrey sat her down on the bed and put the soup on the nightstand. Stacie lay down immediately, pulling the blanket around herself and Aubrey chuckled.

She brushed back Stacie's hair away from her forehead and frowned. "You're burning up." Stacie nodded and Aubrey rolled her eyes. "It's not going to get better with that blanket."

Aubrey pulled the blanket away from Stacie and she whimpered. "But I'm cold."

"I know, but you need to take it off for a while." Aubrey folded the blanket and went into the bathroom, damping a hand towel and returning to the bed. She sat down next to Stacie and pressed the towel to her forehead. "How's that?"

"Cold."

"It's just until your fever goes down. Have you taken anything?"

Stacie pointed at a bottle of Tylenol on her nightstand. "I took that a bit ago."

"It should start working soon." She cupped Stacie's cheek and brushed her thumb soothingly over her jaw. "Is your shirt too warm?"

Stacie opened one eye and looked up at Aubrey. "Are you trying to get me out of my shirt?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to get you to feel better." She leaned forward and lifted the side of Stacie's shirt, pressing her hand to her skin. "You're not that hot."

"I'm smoking hot." Stacie mumbled. "And at least buy me dinner first."

"I did bring you soup."

Stacie smiled. "You did."

Aubrey looked at the state of Stacie's bed for the first time. The sheets were all tangled and there was a mountain of pillows and cushions spilling over the side of the bed. "Why do you have so many pillows?"

Stacie moved closer and rested her head on Aubrey's thigh. "It's my hospital."

Aubrey wiped her forehead with the towel and flipped it over. "Your what?"

"When I got sick and skipped school, my mom used to make a pillow fort hospital, she said it would help me get better faster." Stacie shrugged. "I tried to make one but it collapsed."

Aubrey smiled down at her, brushing her fingers down her hair. "Are you still cold?"

Stacie nodded. "A little bit."

Aubrey adjusted the towel again, her fingers combing through Stacie's hair steadily. "Sleep."

* * *

Stacie woke up an hour later feeling a lot better. Her head didn't hurt as much anymore, and while she still couldn't breathe normally, and her throat was still sore, the general feeling of discomfort was gone. She blinked her eyes open, frowning when she noticed the room was darker than before, and the ceiling looked closer.

She felt the bed shift and Aubrey's face appeared in front of her. "Are you feeling better?"

Stacie frowned. For a second she had thought Aubrey had been a fever induced dream, but she was there. "Yeah."

Aubrey smiled widely. "That's great!" Aubrey dropped down next to Stacie and reached up to touch her forehead. "Your fever's gone."

Stacie rolled over to face her. "You didn't have to stay."

Aubrey shrugged. She had felt guilty for thinking Stacie had been lying so she had stayed. "I wanted to make sure you were okay." She turned to her back and pointed up. "Look."

Stacie turned her head and noticed they were inside what looked like a small, soft igloo. Stacie grinned. "You made a pillow fort!"

"It's not very stable so try not to move too much, but it should hold until you're feeling better."

Stacie looked at her and her smile softened. "You're the best."

"I know." Aubrey winked at her and looked back up.

Stacie reached for her hand and they lay in silence next to each other for a while, neither of them feeling like they needed to say anything.

After a while, Aubrey turned to look at Stacie. "I put the soup in your fridge, you just have to heat it up when you get hungry." Stacie nodded. "I should go."

"Thank you. For everything."

Aubrey shook her head. "It was nothing."

Stacie tightened her grip on Aubrey's hand for a second. "It meant a lot to me."

Aubrey looked at Stacie and smiled. "You're welcome."

Aubrey kissed her cheek and crawled out of the pillow fort, careful not to bump into anything or shake the bed too much.

"Call me if you need anything."

Stacie sat up. "I'll be fine."

Aubrey returned with Stacie's blanket and threw it on top of her. "Call me."

"I'll call you to ask you out." Stacie mumbled.

"What?" Aubrey's voice was still sounded close to the bed but Stacie's voice hadn't been too loud.

"Nothing, Bree. Thanks, bye."

She heard Aubrey's footsteps get further away and stop at the door. "And don't wait too long to ask me out."

The door closed behind Aubrey. Stacie bit her lip, smiling widely. She couldn't believe Aubrey had just told her to ask her out. She squealed and pumped her fist, hitting the pillow fort and making it collapse on top of her. "Ouch."


	26. Dread

Aubrey knew this would happen. Between her tendency to self destruct and Stacie's habit of bailing when things got hard, they were doomed from the start. Like they said, anyone who enters into a romantic relationship thinking it's going to last is either uninformed or stupid. And neither of them was stupid, and Aubrey always tried to gather all the facts before she did anything.

Which is why they both entered into this relationship hesitantly. Even Stacie, who jumped headfirst into everything she did, had taken way too long to even admit anything was going on between them. And maybe that had been their first mistake, being careful. Maybe if they'd both been all in right from the start they could have made it. Or maybe it would have ended less painfully.

But their rocky beginning only made Aubrey more wary. The constant dread of losing Stacie made her cautious. She would avoid talking about things she thought would upset Stacie. And she knew it was ridiculous, and maybe even irrational, especially since Stacie had been the epitome of the perfect girlfriend since they got together officially.

It started with little things, like not being as hard on her as she was with the rest of the Bellas when it came to choreography, or not telling her she prefered bananas to blueberries in her pancakes. But then the lies had started, and after a while, she forgot there was something wrong with what she was doing. She wasn't doing it with the intention of deceiving Stacie, she just wanted to make their lives run as smoothly as possible.

And then it happened. And she knew she should've been more discreet, but the fact that she wasn't really trying to get away with something behind Stacie's back made her careless.

"Bree?"

Aubrey turned away from the other girl and looked up at Stacie, her eyes opening wide when she realized she'd been caught. "Stacie, what are you doing here?"

"I stopped by to get coffee before going home. I thought I'd get some of my schoolwork done since you said you were going to be busy at the library all evening."

"Yes, there was a change of plans." Aubrey stood up awkwardly and pulled Stacie forward. "Stace, this is Karen. She's in my Econ class. Karen, this is my girlfriend."

Karen's eyebrow shot up surprised, but she schooled her features quickly. She held out her hand with a stiff smile. "Nice to meet you."

Stacie ignored her and shook her head confused. "I have to go, I have things to do. I'll let you get back to your…" She looked down at the coffee cups on the table and the piece of pie they were sharing. "...date."

She turned around and left before Aubrey could say anything. Aubrey looked at her retreating back and then back at the other girl. "I should…" She motioned helplessly in the direction Stacie had left and hastily grabbed her things.

She walked back to the Bellas house trying to come up with an apology and a possible explanation that sounded less stupid than the truth. She ran up the stairs to her room and frowned when she found it empty. Stacie had said she was going home, and while the freshmen Bellas weren't allowed to move into the house yet, Stacie practically lived in Aubrey's room.

She walked out and down the hall to Chloe's room, pushing the door open without knocking. "Have you seen Stacie?"

Chloe looked up from her computer with a frown. "Not since rehearsal. Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure." Aubrey bit her lip. "I need to find her. Can you call me if she comes over?"

"Of course."

Aubrey thanked her and walked out again, deciding to check Stacie's dorm room first. Stacie's roommate opened the door just wide enough to check who it was. "Hi, Hayley, is Stacie in?"

The other girl rolled her eyes. She was a Political Sciences major who was very active in left-wing student groups. She liked Stacie well enough but she hated Aubrey. "She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Hayley, please. I need to see her."

"Wait here," she said with a dramatic sigh and closed the door. She came back less than a minute later holding her coat. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Thank you." Aubrey walked in slowly, as if she was afraid she might spook Stacie away if she approached too fast.

Stacie was sitting at her desk, looking intently at her book and tapping her pen nervously on the edge.

"Stace?" The pen stopped but Stacie didn't turn around. "Stacie, come on. We have to talk."

"No, we don't." Stacie turned around and Aubrey could see the redness around the edge of her eyes. "Aubrey, I asked you if you wanted to do something tonight and you said you couldn't because you had work to do. If you wanted to ditch me to go out with someone else, you should've just said so."

"Stace, it wasn't like that. It wasn't a date." She took a step closer. "I love you."

"Then why did you lie to me?"

Aubrey shook her head. "I don't know! I had already agreed to go get coffee with Karen when you told me you wanted to go out. It seemed better to tell you I was busy."

"Better for who? I don't get why you had to lie if she's just your friend."

"She is! Stacie, I swear we're just friends." She moved as close as she could to Stacie without touching her. "I didn't want it to make a big deal out of it. Sometimes it's just easier to lie."

Stacie frowned and looked up at Aubrey. "It's not the first time you've lied to me?"

"No, Stacie, that's not-" Aubrey looked up and shook her head, wondering how she'd managed to dig herself in deeper. "I don't lie to hide things from you."

"That doesn't even make sense, Aubrey!" Stacie walked to the other side of the room to put some distance between them, looking down at her feet while she thought, not speaking for a while. "Did I do something?"

Aubrey frowned. "What?"

"Have I said or done anything to make you think you can't tell me things? To make you feel like you need to lie to me?"

Her voice was soft and small and it broke Aubrey's heart. "No, Stacie. It wasn't anything you did." A tear rolled down Aubrey's face. "I'm so sorry."

Stacie nodded slowly. "Get out."

Aubrey blinked confused, her tears starting to fall faster. "Stace-"

"Please, leave. I can't talk to you."

Aubrey bit her lip and took a deep ragged breath. "I'm sorry."

"Aubrey, please." Stacie had started crying too. She took a step back and opened the door.

Aubrey wiped her face as well as she could, new tears falling down almost as soon as the old ones were gone. She stopped in front of Stacie on the way out, trying to get a sign that everything was going to be okay eventually but Stacie didn't look up.

The sound of the door closing behind her was too loud, even though Stacie had closed it softly. The click of the lock made her flinch.

She stared at the door for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do next, but she realized there was nothing she could do. It had happened, just like she knew it would, and there was nothing she could do to fix it.


	27. Last Breath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continues after Dread (Chapter 30)

Stacie stared blankly at the ceiling. It had been three weeks, four days and around eighteen hours since she'd spoken to Aubrey. She'd stopped going to rehearsals and hadn't taken anyone's calls. She knew she was letting them down, that they'd have to rework the song breakdowns or find someone else to fill in for her, but she couldn't be there. She'd thought about going the day after their fight, but just the thought of seeing Aubrey made her heart break all over again.

She hadn't felt like doing anything since the breakup. She went to class because she had to, but the rest of the time she was in her room. It was the only place she felt safe from Aubrey's memory. Except for their fight, they hadn't really spent much time in Stacie's room. And being sad where something sad happened was easier than being sad in a place with happy memories.

Staying in her room had the added bonus that, if Aubrey tried to look for her, she wouldn't be able to corner her and make her talk. She didn't answer the door when she was alone, and she'd told her roommate Hayley to not let Aubrey in under any circumstance.

But it hadn't mattered. Aubrey had called her a few times after the fight, but she hadn't tried to see her. The calls had stopped after the first week, probably when she realized that Stacie wasn't going to answer.

Stacie knew she'd have to move on eventually. That she couldn't just stay in bed every weekend for the rest of her college life. Not even for the rest of the semester. But it was still too soon.

She felt pathetic. She had never been the girl who fell in love and cried for weeks when someone broke her heart. She'd always thought people who broke down when someone broke up with them were idiots. She didn't need someone else to make her happy.

But she'd never been in love. She'd fallen so hard and fast for Aubrey, and she'd been so scared, that she'd tried to deny it at first. She'd lied to herself, telling herself she wasn't in love, she wasn't that person. But Aubrey had practically forced her to accept it. And she'd been happy she had, she was happy with Aubrey.

And while she didn't need Aubrey to be happy, she needed her to be happier. Every moment she'd shared with Aubrey had been better than all the moments without her. And now they were all tainted.

She'd lived blissfully unaware that anything was wrong in her relationship until that night. And, while she wanted to believed that Aubrey hadn't been cheating on her, she still didn't understand why she'd felt she had to lie to her. And maybe Aubrey could have explained it away, but the fact that it wasn't the first time she lied, made Stacie doubt everything she thought she knew about her relationship. She had no idea when the lies had started, she couldn't tell what had been true and what hadn't.

"This needs to stop." Stacie turned her head and looked at Hayley who was standing in between their beds with her hands on her hips. "You can't just mope around all day. Let's do something."

Stacie frowned confused and blinked a few times before responding. "Do what?"

"I don't know! Anything!" Hayley threw her arms up. "You have barely left the room since it happened."

"I don't feel like doing anything."

Hayle sat at the edge of her bed and shook her shoulder. "Come on! You're single again. Let's go find some hot guy, or girl, for you to make out with."

"I don't want to make out with anyone. I want to stay here and be miserable." Stacie rolled away from her and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Fine, no other people. Let's go get ice cream or something." She ran her hand down Stacie's upper arm. "We can go to that place you like where they make huge sundaes."

Stacie turned her head to look at her and Hayley smiled widely. She sighed, knowing Hayley wouldn't let go until she agreed to do something, so she nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Stacie should have been more aware of the time, and where they were. But she could barely think after eating all that ice cream. They were walking back to their building, taking a route that took them in front of the Arts building right after Bellas rehearsal.

Stacie groaned for the umpteenth time since they'd left the ice cream shop. "I'm so full."

"I know, I think I'm going to be sick and I ate like half of what you did." Hayley grabbed her arm and leaned her weight against her. "You're gonna have to carry me the rest of the way back."

Stacie chuckled and pushed her away. "I can barely carry myself."

"Stacie?" Someone called behind them.

Stacie's laugh caught in her throat and she stopped walking, even though everything inside her was screaming at her to get away from that voice as fast as she could.

"Stace." She heard Aubrey walk towards her and she turned. "Can we talk?"

"I can't." Stacie shook her head and turned back around.

"Stacie wait!"

"She doesn't want to talk to you." Hayley stepped in front of Aubrey, making her end up a few paces behind Stacie.

"Stacie, please." Stacie stopped when she heard Aubrey's voice crack.

Hayley stopped next to her. "You don't have to do this."

Stacie took a deep breath. "It's fine. I'll meet you back in the room."

Aubrey was waiting for her when she turned around. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a zip hoodie. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun on top of her head, strands stray hair framed her face, and Stacie ached to brush it back.

She clasped her hands to stop herself. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Then just listen." Aubrey stepped closer to her. "I was scared. I was terrified I'd lose you. After the way we started-"

"No, Aubrey. You can't put this on me." Stacie shook her head. "I know it took me some time to accept our relationship, but you decided to lie to me on your own."

"I'm not blaming you." Aubrey took her hand. "I'm just trying to explain." Stacie closed her eyes, the feeling of Aubrey's hand in hers felt both like a healing salve and a red hot knife. "I was terrified to lose you and I still did."

Aubrey laced their fingers and squeezed Stacie's hand.

"I love you, Stacie. And I miss you." She cupped Stacie's cheek. "I know what I did is inexcusable, but I'm still asking you to forgive me."

Stacie took in a ragged breath. It would be really easy for her to lean forward and kiss Aubrey. She wanted to do it as much as she wanted to take her next breath. But, "I can't"

She took a step back, letting go of Aubrey's hand and flexing her fingers.

"Stacie." Aubrey choked out a sob. "I won't do it again."

"I wish I could believe that." Stacie said. "Aubrey, I love you, but I can't. I don't know what about our relationship was true, if any of it was true." Stacie shook her head when Aubrey opened her mouth to appeal, with tears streaming down her face. "I wish I didn't love you. I wish I could stop loving you. If I did, it wouldn't hurt so much to look at you."

"Baby, come on." Aubrey tried to move closer but Stacie took a few steps back.

"You need to stop, Aubrey. If you really love me, if that's not a lie, you need to stop." Stacie looked down and shook her head again. "It hurts too much."

Stacie turned around and walked away, hoping it was the last time she saw Aubrey.


	28. Bubble Wrap

Aubrey was at the piano going through the set list with Beca and Chloe when she heard a pop behind her. She paused, frowning, but ignored it, listening to Beca say something about downbeat matching that made little sense to her. She was going to move on to actually talking about the songs on the list when she heard three pops in quick succession.

She turned. The rest of the girls were lounging on the bleachers, reading or listening to music. Stacie was on the top row by herself, reading a book and popping a long strip of bubble wrap.

"Stacie, do you mind?"

"Do I mind wasting my afternoon sitting here doing nothing? Not at all, please continue." She popped a bubble and smiled.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and turned back to the piano, she was opening her mouth to speak when the popping began again.

She gritted her teeth. "Stacie."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bree." Stacie paused and popped two bubbles. "Is this-" She popped another one. "-bothering you?" And three more.

"Stacie, you're being ridiculous."

Stacie put her book on her bag and popped more bubbles. "I'm being ridiculous?" She scoffed.

Chloe walked to where Aubrey was standing with a confused frown. The rest of the girls were also watching the exchange with furrowed brows. "What's happening?"

"What's happening is that Stacie is acting like a child."

"Because you're so mature." Stacie popped another bubble and raised her eyebrows challengingly.

"Stacie, stop." Aubrey warned.

"Or what, Aubrey? You're gonna kick me off the team?"

Aubrey understood what Stacie was really saying and she sighed defeatedly. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Stacie rolled her eyes dramatically, leaving the strip of bubble wrap on her bag and stomping down the bleachers and out of the room with her arms crossed.

Aubrey left behind her, followed by the confused gazes of everyone else.

"Is that really what you want?" Aubrey asked when she reached Stacie.

"I don't know, Aubrey. What's the point of being together if I can only see you when Chloe's gone or it's somewhere at least thirty minutes away from Barden?"

Aubrey took a step closer to her, placing her hand on Stacie's forearm. "Stace, I already explained to you why I don't want the Bellas to know yet. It's not a good time, we just got back into the competition."

"It's never a good time, Aubrey!" Stacie wrenched her arm away from her. "I'm sorry for wanting to have an actual relationship with you."

"I want that too!"

Stacie scoffed. "Right."

"Stace." Aubrey moved her hand towards Stacie again but stopped before touching her, not knowing if her touch would be welcomed. "We'll tell them after finals, it's just a few weeks more."

"You said we'd tell them after semis."

"And then we lost!" Aubrey looked back at the open door and lowered her voice. "Baby, please. It's just a little longer."

"If you don't find another excuse." Stacie shook her head. "I can't do this anymore. Call me when you actually want to be with me."

Stacie walked back into the room. The rest of the girls turned around, pretending they hadn't been trying to listen to them. She climbed up to where her things were and grabbed them.

"Stace, where are you going?" Chloe asked frowning as Aubrey returned and stood next to her with a forlorn look.

"Ask Aubrey."

"What?" Fat Amy stood up. "Cap, you can't kick her out for the bubble wrap! Someone do something."

Stacie was almost at the door when Aubrey turned to her and shouted. "Stacie, I love you."

"What?" Aubrey didn't know who'd said it, she was focused on Stacie who had stopped short of the door.

"Please, come back." She walked half the distance to her.

Stacie turned, putting her bag down and walking to Aubrey. "Do you mean that? You didn't just say it so I'd stop?"

Aubrey shook her head. "I love you."

"And them?" Stacie motioned with her head to the group of girls who were watching them with their mouths open in shock.

"They'll get over it?" Aubrey shrugged unsure. "I can't lose you."

Stacie smiled. "I love you too."

"Aww." Everyone looked at Jessica like she had been the one to profess her love for Aubrey before turning back to the couple.

Stacie took Aubrey's hand, smiling goofily, and leaned forward, capturing Aubrey's lips in a soft kiss.

Beca slapped Chloe's arm. "Are you seeing this? It's not a hallucination?"

"I-" Chloe paused. "Maybe there's something in the air and we're having a mass hallucination."

Aubrey broke the kiss, brushing her fingers down Stacie's jaw before turning around to face the Bellas.

"Shall we continue? We have a lot of work to do."

"What?" Beca stood up. "No! Whaat the fuck was that?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Stacie and I are dating. You get one question." She silenced Fat Amy with a look when she opened her mouth. "One for all of you, not each."

They looked at each other, no one wanting to waste their question. Finally all eyes landed on Chloe and she frowned in thought before turning back to face Aubrey and Stacie.

"Are you happy?"

They turned to look at each other with matching lovestruck smiles.

"Yes." Aubrey replied and Stacie nodded in agreement.

Chloe grinned. "Then I don't care about anything else."

"Speak for yourself. What the hell?" Fat Amy exclaimed.

"Guys, chill. This isn't gonna change anything." Stacie hugged Aubrey from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Except maybe now I can bribe Aubrey for less cardio."

Aubrey half turned in Stacie's arms to look at her. "Like you haven't tried it before. It won't work."

Stacie tilted her head closer to Aubrey's. "But I couldn't do this before."

She kissed her, chastely at first but they soon got carried away and Aubrey parted her mouth.

"I saw tongue." Cynthia Rose gasped.

"Alright, enough!" Beca yelled and Stacie and Aubrey parted reluctantly. "Can we finish going over the set list?"

Aubrey pushed Stacie back after kissing her quickly, turning to walk to the piano but stopping when Stacie tugged at her wrist. "I love you."

Aubrey blushed and ducked her head. "I love you too."

"Aww."

"Jessica, stop!"


	29. Boo

Aubrey stopped by the door that led from the kitchen to the living room when she noticed the pale glow of the television. She walked towards the couch, smiling when she found Stacie sprawled on it wrapped in a blanket.

"What are you watching?"

"Halloween." Stacie looked up at her and smiled, sitting up and patting the space next to her.

Aubrey bit her lip without sitting down. "Oh, I don't like scary movies."

"Stay, this one's not so bad." Stacie grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to her.

"Okay." Aubrey's heart skipped with every swipe of Stacie's thumb on her wrist.

She was starting to relax, forgetting the million things that had kept her up and made her go wandering downstairs in the first place, when the music in the movie got louder making her turn to the screen. Stacie let go of her wrist and reached for the popcorn bowl on the coffee table and brought it to her lap. Aubrey grabbed a handful of popcorn and focused on the movie.

She really didn't like scary movies. Especially the ones where there was a psychopath on a killing spree. She could rationalize paranormal events enough to actually enjoy the movies, but that didn't work when everything in the movie could actually happen.

Her nervousness increased as the movie progressed and she started inching closer to Stacie. She grabbed the corner of the blanket on Stacie's lap and started pulling on it. Stacie chuckled when she noticed and moved half of the blanket to Aubrey's lap. The blonde her threw her a thankful smile and pulled her feet up on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest and scooting right next to Stacie.

A door slammed shut in the movie, making Aubrey jump and grab Stacie's hand, ending up with her back pressed against Stacie's chest.

Stacie wrapped her free arm around Aubrey's waist. "Are you okay?"

Aubrey nodded without looking away from the screen, pulling both of Stacie's arms tighter around herself. "Something's gonna happen."

"It wouldn't be much of a movie if nothing happened." She squeezed Aubrey. "I should've made you watch scary movies with me sooner."

Aubrey shushed her and squeezed her arm. "Why doesn't he turn the light on?"

"People in scary movies aren't very smart."

Aubrey turned to Stacie when the killer came out, hiding her face on the crook of her neck. "Tell me when it's over."

Stacie felt Aubrey's lips on her neck and her breath hitched. She could feel Aubrey's breath on her skin and she was still hugging her arm. She knew she shouldn't be enjoying this so much, especially while someone was being brutally murdered in the movie, but she didn't want it to end.

"Is it over?"

"Almost." Stacie wasn't sure what was happening in the movie but she wanted Aubrey to stay there a bit longer.

Aubrey felt Stacie shift and noticed their position. She turned her head and her nose bumped against Stacie's neck, her lips just a hair's breadth away from her skin.

"You smell really good."

Stacie swallowed visibly. "Thank you."

Aubrey lifted her head and looked at Stacie's lips. "Stace." Stacie looked away from the screen and at Aubrey who was still clinging to her. "I think-"

There was a creak behind them and Aubrey straightened up. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Stacie was still looking at Aubrey and hadn't heard anything.

"That noise."

"I didn't hear anything." Stacie tried to turn but Aubrey was fully on top of her and she couldn't move much.

Aubrey relaxed a little, turning back to look at Stacie. "Maybe I imagined it." She smiled shyly and tapped her fingers on Stacie's shoulder. "I was saying that-"

There was another, louder creak and now Aubrey was sure it had come from behind the stairs. She straddled Stacie and looked over her head.

"A lap dance wasn't really in my plans for tonight, but okay."

"Stacie!" Aubrey admonished. "Stop being a perv, there's someone back there."

"I can go check if-"

"No!" Aubrey hugged her head to her chest. "Don't go, were you not paying attention to the movie?"

"I'm really trying to not say something pervy, but…" Stacie mumbled against Aubrey.

Aubrey looked down and let go of Stacie's head. "Sorry."

There were a few taps on one of the windows.

"Okay, I heard that." Stacie said nervously. She grabbed Aubrey and placed her on the couch next to her. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"No! Wait." Aubrey got up and clung to her arm. "I'll go with you."

Stacie started walking towards the far window that faced the front of the house with Aubrey in tow.

"Maybe we should get a weapon." Stacie whispered.

"Like what?" Aubrey looked around the room and pulled on Stacie's arm making her slow down.

Stacie turned to look at her quickly before continuing forward. "I don't know, a bat or something."

"I don't think anyone in the house owns a bat." Aubrey whispered.

Stacie stopped in front of the window and grabbed the curtains, taking a deep breath and looking at Aubrey before pulling them open. Aubrey nodded and stepped closer to her, her hand holding on to Stacie's shirt.

Stacie counted to three under her breath and opened the curtain, yelling at what she found on the other side. She heard Aubrey yell beside her and felt her arms wrap around her waist tightly.

"Fat Amy, what the fuck?"

Fat Amy dropped the flashlight she'd been holding under her face and started laughing, walking around to the door and still trying to catch her breath as she walked inside. "Oh god, you should've seen your faces."

The stairs light turned on and the rest of the girls appeared at the top. "What's happening."

"Stacie and Aubrey were smooching on the couch and I scared them."

"What?" Chloe squealed and ran down the stairs.

Aubrey rolled her eyes at Chloe's excitement. "We weren't smooching, we were watching a movie."

"Right, because you had to climb on top of Stacie to watch it properly." Fat Amy scoffed.

"It was a scary movie." Stacie said, taking a step closer to Aubrey.

Chloe arched her eyebrows at them and Aubrey sighed. "It's late, we should all go to sleep."

Everyone started heading back to their rooms. Aubrey was about to follow Chloe up the stairs when Stacie stopped her.

She tilted her head and pointed back at the couch. "We didn't finish the movie."

"Tomorrow?" Aubrey smiled and leaned close to her. "Maybe I'll let you climb on top of me this time."


	30. Trick or Treat

"You haven't had sex yet?" Chloe asked. They were in their backyard drinking lemonade while the kids played around them.

"Chloe!" Aubrey looked pointedly at the kids sitting only a few feet away.

"They're not listening." Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "You've been dating for over a month, how have you not jumped Stacie Conrad's bones yet. How has she not jumped yours? She's been dying to bang you for ages."

"Exactly, we've been dancing around whatever this is for forever, I don't want to rush things. We're not even official yet."

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "How does she feel about going slow?"

"She's been perfect." Aubrey smiled shyly. "Which only makes it harder for me to control myself around her."

"Then stop trying!" Chloe kicked a small rubber ball that had rolled towards them. "I think you've waited long enough and you know you want to be with her so make it official and bang her brains out."

They heard the door swing open and looked back at Beca and Stacie crossing the yard towards them.

"Chlo! Stacie offered to take the kids trick or treating so we can leave early for our party."

"Really?" Stacie nodded. "That's great! Thanks Stace."

Stacie had stopped behind Aubrey and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to come with me?"

Aubrey looked up, resting the back of her head on Stacie. "What do I get out of it?"

"My eternal gratitude?" Stacie leaned down and kissed her. "And that."

"I don't know, I might need more persuading."

Stacie smirked and kissed her repeatedly. "I'll take care of our costumes too."

"We have to wear costumes?" Aubrey scrunched up her nose.

"Of course we do, it's Halloween!" Stacie kissed her nose and straightened up. "So, what do you say, Bree?" She looked at the kids and raised her voice. "I bet Em will let you have some of her candy."

"What candy?" The little girl looked up at them suspiciously.

"The candy we'll get when we go trick or treating tomorrow!" Stacie walked to her and picked her up, throwing her over her shoulder making her squeal. "Do you want Aubrey to come with us?"

"Yes!"

"How about you, Jake?" Stacie winked at the boy squinting up at her and he nodded.

"See! We all want you to come!" She put Emily down and whispered in her ear.

Emily walked up to Aubrey and pouted up at her. "Please, Aunt Bree."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at Stacie before looking down at the girl. "Of course, sweetie, I'd love to take you trick or treating."

"Yay!" Emily turned to Stacie and high fived her and her brother.

Stacie ruffled Jake's hair and walked back to sit next to Aubrey.

"So what are our costumes going to be?"

"It's a surprise." Stacie replied with a devilish smile.

Jake walked up to Beca and tugged on her sleeve until she picked him up to sit on her lap.

"Just don't wear anything too provocative, you're going to be hanging out with children." Chloe said, pointing at Jake.

He looked up at Beca confused. "What's provo- provoctive?"

"Provocative. It's when Aunt Stacie thinks she can wear clothes she wore in college even though she's over thirty now." Beca replied with a smirk.

Stacie gasped. "The second you let go of that child, Beca Mitchell…" She ran the back of her thumb across her throat menacingly.

* * *

"I'm here!" Stacie walked into the house holding two garment bags.

Emily ran downstairs and crashed against Stacie's legs, her bunny ears falling off her head. "You're under arrest!"

"But Officer Hops, if you arrest me, who's going to take you trick or treating?" Stacie asked dramatically, picking up Emily's ears and putting them back on her head.

"Aunt Bree is here! She can take me." Emily grinned up at Stacie.

"But she's gonna eat all your candy if I'm not there to stop her." Stacie nodded seriously.

Emily let her go and sighed. "Fine, you're free."

Stacie chuckled and walked around her. "Where's Bree anyway?"

"She's helping Jake with his costume." Emily looked up at her and tilted her head. "Your hair looks like mommy's."

"It's part of my costume." Stacie started going up the stairs. "Let's go check on Jake so we can get changed and leave."

Emily ran ahead yelling that she had arrived and Stacie followed her to Jake's room. Aubrey was pressing a fake mustache to his face and making sure it wasn't crooked. He was wearing a bright yellow jacket and white pants with red lines on the sides.

"Oh my god, you look amazing." Stacie gushed.

He turned to look at her with a wide grin. "Do you like it?" He grabbed a microphone from the bed. "I'm Freddie Mercury!"

"I can see that. It's awesome, dude!"

"Mom gave me one of her old mics!" He waved the microphone.

"It's so cool!" Stacie looked up and noticed Aubrey staring at her with her mouth open. "Hey."

Aubrey stepped forward and grabbed a strand of her hair. "Your hair is red."

"Yeah." Stacie placed her free hand on Aubrey's hip. "Do you like it?"

Aubrey bit her lip and looked at her. "It looks really hot."

Stacie smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Wait until you see the rest of my costume."

"Chloe told you not to wear something provocative." Aubrey tapped Stacie's collarbone.

"It's PG, don't worry." Stacie kissed her again before pulling back and handing her one of the garment bags. "This one's yours."

Aubrey grabbed the costume and went to Chloe and Beca's room to change.

"Hey, bunny, wanna help me with my costume in your room?" Emily looked up at her and nodded. "We'll be right back, Freddie."

Aubrey came out first, looking down at her costume with a frown. She was wearing a full body red and black suit with a diamond pattern on one of the legs. "Stacie, what am I supposed to be dressed as?"

Jake came out of his room and smiled. "You're Harley!"

"I don't know what that means." Aubrey frowned.

Emily's door opened and Stacie came out wearing a short green dress with scattered leaves sewn onto it and a pair of green tights with a darker green vine going around them, complete with dark green boots and long green gloves. Emily had helped her tangle some leaves in her hair and she had put on green lipstick.

"Wow." Aubrey breathed out.

"Aww, you look so cute, Bree! Where's your hat?"

Aubrey frowned again. "I don't want to wear something on my head. I don't even know what I'm wearing."

"You're Harley Quinn! From the comic books?" Aubrey was still looking blankly at her. "There was a movie? Suicide Squad?" Stacie sighed and took out her phone to find a picture to show Aubrey. "That's Harley, and that's Ivy."

"Oh! So she's like a superhero?"

Jake slapped his hand on his forehead. "She's a villain."

"Why are we dressed like the bad guys?"

"Because they're hot." Stacie rolled her eyes. "Now put on the hat and the mask so we can go."

"I don't want the hat, it's silly."

Stacie groaned. "Fine, put on the mask and I'll fix your hair."

Aubrey went back into the room and grabbed the mask. Stacie followed her and made her sit on the bed. "Bunny, I need a couple of hair ties and a hairbrush!"

Emily came in and handed Stacie a handful of hair ties and her brush. Stacie smiled at her and started pulling back Aubrey's hair.

"What are you doing?"

"Pigtails."

Stacie tied half of Aubrey's hair on one side and then tied the other half, trying to keep them at the same height. She straightened the pigtails up and looked at Emily and Jake. The boy gave her a thumbs up and Stacie smiled.

"Alright, let's go!"

* * *

Stacie and Aubrey were cuddled on the couch with the kids sleeping on a pile of blankets on the floor. Stacie lifted her head to check the kids were asleep and then turned to kiss Aubrey.

"Emily asked me if you were mad at me." Stacie whispered.

"Why would she think that?" Aubrey brushed back a strand of Stacie's hair, running it through her fingers and admiring the copper hues in it.

"Because she heard Chloe tell you to bang my brains out."

Aubrey's eyes widened in shock. "I told Chloe to keep her voice down, jeez."

Stacie chuckled and kissed her again. "So, it's true? You want to bang my brains out?"

Aubrey laughed. "Maybe. After we're done babysitting and I'm not wearing a onesie."

"It's not a onesie!" Stacie huffed. "You're the worst."

Aubrey smiled. "Would you want to make us official even if I'm the worst?"

Stacie's face lit up. "Yes!"

Aubrey shushed her and looked down at the kids, leaning back when they didn't move. She pulled Stacie back and snuggled up to her. "You should keep the hair for a bit, I've always wanted to date a redhead."


	31. Mission Impossibeale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write Chloe so this happened...

Chloe prided herself on the fact that she knew everything there was to know about her best friend. She knew her moods, her likes, and, most of all, she knew her schedule. After living for over three years with the blonde, Chloe could accurately predict what Aubrey was doing at any given time of the day. Which was why she was so surprised when she got up that morning and didn't find her in the kitchen.

She frowned, walking back down the hall to Aubrey's bedroom. Her bed was made, but that wasn't unusual, she made it before going out for her morning run. But it was thirty minutes past the usual time she got back.

She went back to the kitchen, starting the coffee maker while she wondered if this deviation from Aubrey's schedule was a cause for alarm. Maybe something had happened to her during her run.

She was considering going out to try to find her when the front door opened and Aubrey came in. She toed off her sneakers by the door and smiled at Chloe. "Morning, Chlo."

Chloe's brow furrowed. "Good morning?" Aubrey walked past the kitchen towards the bathroom. "You're not having breakfast?"

"I grabbed something after my run." Aubrey smiled over her shoulder and disappeared into the bathroom.

"That was weird." Chloe said, pursing her lips.

Aubrey's schedule went back to normal after that, and Chloe didn't give it much thought. It was one isolated event, it didn't mean anything on its own. That was until it happened again two days later. And then other things started happening. She would get back a little later from class, or she would spend more time at the library. It wasn't long enough for Aubrey to talk about what she was doing, they were maybe ten or fifteen minute deviations from her schedule, but Chloe noticed.

And then, a couple of weeks after the first incident, Aubrey made one big change.

"Chlo, I need to run some errands. I'll meet you back at the apartment later." Aubrey said as she was finishing grabbing her things after rehearsal.

They always walked back to their apartment together on Wednesdays, and then Aubrey would study for a while and then they would watch a movie. It was Chloe's turn to pick. Chloe narrowed her eyes as she watched Aubrey leave. Something had changed.

She looked around, smiling when she spotted Lilly still there and called her over. "Are you doing something right now?" Lilly shook her head. Chloe smiled. "I need you to follow Aubrey and text me where she's going. Don't let her see you."

Lilly clicked her heels and saluted before running out to find Aubrey.

Chloe got Lilly's first text a few minutes later. Apparently Aubrey had stopped by a grocery store. Lilly hadn't followed her inside but she clicked a few pictures of her leaving. She had a bag, the contents of which could not be surmised from the picture, and a bouquet of flowers.

Chloe zoomed in. The flowers were white and pink lilies, tied together with a bow. Chloe didn't understand. Were the flowers for someone? Did she buy them for herself?

She sent Lilly a message telling her to stay with Aubrey as her confusion grew. Was Aubrey dating someone? If she was, it was serious enough for her to get flowers for them. Aubrey hadn't dated anyone for a while and, except for a girl on her junior year, all her other dates had been with guys. But Aubrey wouldn't buy flowers for a guy.

But Aubrey always told her when she had a date. The only reason she wouldn't tell her about it was because she thought Chloe would have a bad reaction to the news. Which didn't make sense, why would Aubrey think that?

Lilly texted Chloe that Aubrey had gone to a dorm building and Chloe gasped. Aubrey wouldn't tell her she was dating someone if she thought Chloe also liked that someone.

Chloe was glad she'd stayed close, getting there only a few minutes after getting Lilly's text.

"Has she left?" Lilly shook her head. "Did you see which floor she went to?" Lilly shook her head again and Chloe cursed. "Alright, let's go."

Chloe marched up to the third floor and knocked on a door, pushing it open and walking in as soon as Beca opened.

"Where is she?" Chloe looked around at the empty room while Beca stared at her in shock.

"Where's who? What's going on?" Lilly pushed past her too and opened the closet. "What are you guys looking for? Are you insane?"

"Where's Aubrey, Beca?"

"Why the fuck would I know? I can't stand her!" Beca walked to her closet and closed the doors, pushing Lilly to a corner when she started opening random drawers. "What are you doing?"

Chloe stopped pacing and closed Beca's door, grabbing Beca and sitting her down on the bed. "Who else lives here?"

"What?"

"Lilly, go back outside and text me if Aubrey comes out." Lilly nodded and left. Chloe turned back to Beca. "Who else lives in this building?"

"I don't know, Chloe! It's a big building and I don't go around knocking on random people's doors."

Chloe pursed her lips. Knocking on random doors wasn't such a bad idea but it would take too much time. "Have you seen Aubrey here before?"

"No." Beca frowned and then looked up at Chloe. "Wait, you thought Aubrey and I were together? As in together together?" Chloe shrugged. "Why would you think that? That's insane."

"I don't know! She's been acting weird." Chloe sat down next to Beca. "And Lilly saw her buying flowers before she came here, so I thought maybe she wasn't telling me about whoever she was dating because it was you."

"Why would it matter if it was me? I mean, other than the fact that it's completely ludicrous and would never ever happen."

"No reason." Chloe's ears turned red and she looked away. "The point is that she's hiding something from me. We tell each other everything. I need to find out what it is so I can tell her I'm fine with it."

"Can't you tell her that without knowing? Sending Lilly after her seems a bit extreme."

Chloe shook her head at Beca's naiveté. "I need to know so it won't be a surprise when she tells me and I can control my reaction."

Chloe's phone buzzed with a text from Lilly saying Aubrey had just left the building.

"Shit, I need to get home before Aubrey gets back." She turned back to Beca when she got to the door. "Find out who lives here."

* * *

A few days later, Chloe still didn't know who Aubrey was dating. Lilly had been following her, emailing her reports on Aubrey's movements -Chloe didn't know if Lilly actually attended class- but everything looked normal. She hadn't gone back to Beca's building, she went out running, to class, rehearsal, the library, and home.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Aubrey chuckling at her phone before rehearsal. Aubrey bit her lip and typed a reply, the side of her mouth quirking up into a smile.

Chloe was about to go to her and ask her about it when she heard a beep on the other side of the room making her look that way. Stacie took out her phone, looking briefly in Aubrey's direction before looking at her phone and smiling.

Chloe turned back to Aubrey, who had put down her phone and was seemingly uninterested in it now, but she noticed her fingers tapping impatiently next to it and Aubrey's furtive looks at her screen.

Stacie put her phone down, throwing another look at Aubrey just as Aubrey's screen lit up. Aubrey didn't unlock it but read the notification and shook her head with a small smile.

Chloe watched them both during rehearsal. Everything would've looked normal to anyone else, but Chloe noticed how Aubrey paid way less attention to Stacie than the other girls, like she was doing it on purpose. By the end of rehearsal, Chloe couldn't have been more convinced that something was going on between them if she'd seen them kiss.

Since Lilly wasn't finding anything, she decided she'd just have to tag along with Aubrey, so she approached her after rehearsal.

"Hey, Bree, You're going to the library, right?" Aubrey nodded cautiously. "Great! I need a book, I'll go with you."

"Oh." Aubrey frowned minutely. "Okay, sure. Let's go."

Chloe grinned, grabbing Aubrey's arm and pulling her forward. "So, what's new with you? I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

Aubrey chuckled. "We live together, Chlo. We talk all the time."

"But like really talk." Chloe insisted.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Aubrey freed her arm and turned to her with a scowl. "You've been acting kinda strange lately. Please tell me it has nothing to do with the hobbit."

"What? No, I don't-" Chloe frowned confused. "I mean-" She sighed. "Never mind."

They walked into the library and Aubrey walked straight to a table in the back corner and started taking out her books.

Chloe pointed behind them. "I'm gonna go get the book I need, I'll be right back."

Aubrey nodded and sat down, tapping her pen on the table. Chloe hid behind a shelf where she could still look at her, but it looked like Aubrey was just studying. She stalled a little longer but nothing happened so she grabbed a random book from the shelf and went back to the table.

Chloe sat across from her and smiled. "Got it."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "Machiavelli?"

Chloe looked at the book, reading the title and nodded. "Yes, I have a book report."

Chloe twisted her lower lip and opened the book. She guessed she could read it while she waited for Aubrey to finish her own thing. She read the first sentence and frowned. This didn't look fun.

She looked up just as Stacie was rounding the corner, hesitating when she saw Chloe there.

"Stacie! What a coincidence, what are you doing here?"

"Umm." Stacie took a step back. "I was just looking for a place to study."

"We have room here if you want to join us." Chloe grinned at her and then looked at Aubrey who was looking at her like a deer in headlights.

She gave her a strained smile and then turned to Stacie. "Yeah, there's room."

Stacie pulled on the strap of her bag and raised her eyebrows at Aubrey before walking to the table and sitting down next to Aubrey. Chloe watched her as she silently took out her things. She lined up a bunch of different colored pens in between Aubrey and her, and opened up a text book to start taking notes.

Everything looked perfectly innocent. Both Stacie and Aubrey were focused on their work, seemingly ignoring each other. But then Aubrey reached out and grabbed one of Stacie's pens, used it to underline something and put it back. Stacie didn't even look up when this happened.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. Maybe she was reading too much into things, maybe Aubrey just needed a pen. And maybe her hand just casually landed so close to Stacie's. They didn't speak or acknowledge each other the whole time they were there, but there was an air of familiarity to the way they acted. Like they'd done this many times before and were communicating without even looking at each other.

About an hour later, Stacie closed her book. "I should go, I have a thing." She packed her things and stood up, stopping behind Aubrey's chair. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." Chloe waved at her, frowning confused when Aubrey only nodded without looking up from her book.

Chloe shrugged and grabbed her bag, looking back up when Aubrey's chair moved.

"Stacie left her pen, I'm gonna see if I can catch her."

Aubrey ran off and Chloe stood up to follow her. It looked like Stacie had been waiting by the door. Aubrey handed her the pen, their fingers brushing together when it changed hands. Stacie said something and Aubrey laughed, her cheeks coloring slightly. And then Stacie turned and left.

Chloe didn't get it. Aubrey acted different with Stacie, that was undeniable, but they weren't acting like a couple, even when they didn't think they were being watched. It didn't make sense, unless they weren't actually dating or they were being overly cautious for some reason.

Chloe huffed out a breath and returned to her chair. She had to figure out where Stacie's dorm room was.

* * *

Chloe knocked urgently on Beca's door until it opened.

"You again?"

Chloe pushed past her followed by Lilly. "We need your window."

Lilly turned off the light and took out a rope from her backpack. "What are you doing?"

"It's Stacie!" Chloe stage whispered. "We found her room, she's on the second floor. Aubrey got here earlier."

"Stacie and Aubrey are dating?" Lilly started tying the rope to the foot of Beca's bed. "Why do you need the rope?"

"We don't really know for sure they're dating." Lilly opened the window and threw the rope out, taking out a pair of night vision goggles.

"And Lilly is going to climb down to get proof?" Beca asked alarmed.

"Exactly!" Chloe strapped a helmet with a camera to Lilly's head and Lilly climbed up to the window ledge.

"What if they're, you know, doing things?" Beca grimaced.

"Let's hope they had the good sense to close the curtains."

Chloe and Beca ran to the window as Lilly started climbing down the side of the building.

"This is insane, Chloe! She's going to kill herself."

Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "Second window to the right!"

Lilly stretched but the rope stopped her before she reached the window. She pulled herself by the edge of the window, Beca's bed scraping forward a few inches.

"Whoa!" Beca sat on her bed to hold it down. "Chloe, this is insane. Don't you think Aubrey hasn't told you about this for a reason and doing this will only piss her off?"

"I just need confirmation before I say anything." Chloe leaned out of the window. "Swing!"

Lilly kicked off the wall and swung to the window, lifting Beca's bed. The bed crashed back down loudly a foot closer to the window. "Don't swing!"

Lilly landed with a thump against the window and Chloe winced. There was no way they hadn't heard that. Lilly regained her balance for a few seconds but then the window opened pushing her back. Lilly slid back, flailing on the edge.

Chloe yelped and grabbed the rope. A hand shot out from inside and grabbed Lilly, stopping her from falling.

Aubrey leaned out and looked up. "Chloe, what the hell?"

"Hey, Bree." Chloe smiled and waved. "What are you doing here?"

"What? What is Lilly doing rappelling down the side of a building?"

Lilly swung her legs inside the room and untied the rope from her waist, letting it hang freely and disappearing inside.

Stacie's head appeared next to Aubrey's and Chloe smiled. "Hey, Stace."

Aubrey pulled Stacie inside. She leaned out some time later. "I'm dating Stacie."

"I know." Chloe bit her lip. "I had Lilly follow you."

"I figured." Aubrey shook her head. "Wanna go get ice cream?"

Chloe grinned. "Bring Stacie."


	32. Lapdance

Aubrey pushed past the throngs of students in their green robes. She had no idea where Stacie could be, she had lost her when the ceremony ended and everyone stood up. She hoped she was at least going in the right direction.

"Bree!" Chloe crashed against her and squeezed her tightly. "I'm a college graduate!"

"Congratulations, Chlo!" Aubrey squeezed Chloe back. There had been a moment between Chloe's third and fourth senior year when Aubrey had doubted this was ever going to happen.

Chloe let her go and pointed to the side of the dais where they had received their diplomas. "Your girlfriend's over there with the rest of the Bellas."

"You're not coming?"

"I gotta find my parents first. I'll meet you back at the house." Chloe squeezed her one more time before walking away.

Aubrey made her way to where Chloe had pointed until she broke out of the main group of students and spotting the Bellas. Stacie saw her and smiled broadly, walking away from the rest of the girls and meeting her halfway.

Stacie wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her. Aubrey pulled her closer by her honor stole, deepening the kiss and moaning into her mouth. "Congratulations, baby."

"Thank you." Stacie took a step back and grabbed Aubrey's hand.

Aubrey bit her lip. "I have something for you."

"Aww, you didn't have to get me anything." Stacie pecked her lips. "But I love gifts. What is it?"

"I left if back at my place, do we have time to swing by before the party?"

"Sure." Stacie leaned on Aubrey's shoulder and turned to tell the Bellas they'd be over later before following Aubrey back to her car.

Once in her apartment, Aubrey pulled a chair from the dining room and sat Stacie down. "I'll be right back, don't move."

Stacie looked around the room and fidgeted. "Do I have to stay on the chair?"

"Yes, it'll just take a minute." Aubrey yelled from her room.

"Can I at least take off the gown?"

"Yeah, sure." Aubrey chuckled.

Stacie stood up and put her cap, gown, and stole on the table, sitting back down on the chair and twiddling her thumbs impatiently. "Hey, babe, do you still have that bottle of vodka we got a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah, remind me to get it before we leave." Stacie heard the click of Aubrey's heels as she walked back into the dining room and approached her from behind. She draped her arms around her shoulders and leaned forward to whisper in Stacie's ear. "Do you trust me?"

Stacie's brow furrowed. "Of course, baby."

Aubrey kissed her cheek and ran her hands down Stacie's arms, taking her hands and pulling them behind her back.

"What-"

Aubrey grabbed the stole from the table and tied Stacie's hands to the back of the chair. She pulled on the ends to make sure it was tied securely. "Is it too tight?"

Stacie shook her head and swallowed. She wasn't sure what was happening but she couldn't wait to find out.

Aubrey walked around to stand in front of her and Stacie's jaw fell open. Aubrey had changed into one of Stacie's t-shirts and a lacy pair of underwear. She walked to the speakers on the far side of the living room and plugged in her phone, starting a song.

She stalked forward towards Stacie, her hips swaying to the music. "I wanted to give you something personal. I figured you'd get enough monogrammed lab coats and pens from everyone else, so I wanted my gift to be special."

She straddled Stacie, placing a hand on her shoulder and rocking her hips. She captured Stacie's lips, pressing her chest to Stacie's, her hips still moving to the music.

Stacie pulled against her bindings, groaning frustratedly about not being able to touch Aubrey.

Aubrey pulled back chuckling. "Do you want me to untie you?"

Stacie bit her lip and thought about it for a second before shaking her head.

Aubrey smiled and kept dancing. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, running her hand down her chest until she reached the bottom of her shirt. She pulled it up slowly, Stacie's gaze glued to the newly exposed skin. She stopped when she reached her breasts, her hand sliding down her stomach to the waistband of her underwear making Stacie whimper.

"Baby," Stacie breathed out. "Kiss me."

Aubrey acquiesced and brushed their lips together, pulling back almost immediately with a mischievous grin. Stacie pouted and Aubrey bit down on her lip, sucking it into her mouth. Her hands moved under Stacie's shirt, raking her nails down her sides and lifting herself off Stacie's lap.

Stacie tried to follow her up but her tied hands kept her on the chair. Aubrey took a step back, placing her hands on Stacie's knees and parting her legs before sliding her hands up her thighs. She turned around, sitting on Stacie's lap and twisting her head to kiss her. She reached behind her to bury her hands in Stacie's hair, her hips never missing a beat as she grinded on top of Stacie.

Stacie moaned into her mouth, her kisses getting more hungry as her arousal spiked.

"Bree." Aubrey turned to face Stacie again, her hands moving down her arms to untie her, but Stacie shook her head when she felt her pulling on them. "Leave that. Take my pants off."

"That's not how lap dances work."

Stacie tilted her head and looked at Aubrey unamused. "Babe."

Aubrey pecked her lips and scooted back, unbuttoning Stacie's jeans and pulling down the zipper. She stood up and Stacie lifted her hips, allowing Aubrey to peel off her pants.

Aubrey connected their lips again, one of her hands drifting down and inside Stacie's underwear, a small gasp escaping Stacie's lips at the contact. Aubrey kept rocking on top of her, swallowing Stacie's moans. It didn't take long for Stacie to break the kiss, arching her back and thrusting her hips forward against Aubrey's hand.

Aubrey slowed down, sitting back on Stacie's lap and watching her. She had been a little nervous about this whole lap dance thing, but this made it all worth it.

She waited for Stacie to relax to untie her, rubbing her hands over her wrists soothingly. There didn't seem to be any noticeable marks on them, the stole was wide and Aubrey had made sure Stacie had some wiggle room.

"Does it hurt?"

Stacie shook her head and wrapped her now free arms around Aubrey. "That was the best graduation present ever."

"I thought your mom gave you your car for your high school graduation."

"Best. Ever." Stacie repeated, nodding seriously.

"So I won't need my backup gift of letting you tie me up then." Aubrey said cheekily and got off her lap, grabbing her phone and going back to her bedroom.

Stacie watched her confused, trying to process what she said and running after her once she did. "Wait, what?"

* * *


	33. Marshmallow

_Aubrey placed a mug in front of Stacie. She looked at her, biting her lip nervously and fiddling with her hands._

_Stacie frowned at the mug and then slowly looked up at Aubrey. "What's this?"_

" _Hot chocolate. With mini marshmallows." Aubrey nudged the mug closer to Stacie. "I thought you might like it."_

_Stacie looked down at the mug and then back at Aubrey, pushing it away. "I'm good, thanks."_

" _Stacie." Aubrey sighed. "It's just hot chocolate, it doesn't mean anything."_

_Stacie let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "Just like us, right?"_

" _That's not-" Aubrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't mean it like that."_

" _No, it's fine. I'm just someone you're screwing."_

_Aubrey clenched her jaw, she knew Stacie was trying to hurt her on purpose and that she shouldn't let it get to her, but it did. She sat down next to Stacie. "You know I care about you."_

" _You just don't think I'm girlfriend material." Aubrey opened her mouth to protest but Stacie cut her off. "It's okay, Aubrey, really. I don't even know why I asked you, it was stupid." She got up, grabbing the book she'd been reading. "I gotta go."_

" _Stacie." Aubrey croaked out as she watched her walk away._

Aubrey kept thinking about that night as her finger hovered over Stacie's number on her phone. She knew she didn't have a right to do this, that she was being selfish, but she didn't know what else to do.

Her finger pressed on the screen firmly and she let out a shaky breath while she waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" Stacie's voice sounded groggy, she'd probably been asleep.

"I need you." The silence that followed that sentence stretched on for what felt like hours.

"What?" Stacie sounded more alert now.

"Can you just come here?" Aubrey let out a breath. "Come stay with me and forget about everything else."

"Aubrey."

Aubrey didn't think she could take a rejection. Not today.

"Just- Please, Stacie." Aubrey's voice cracked and she swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just come here, please."

"Okay." Stacie replied flatly. "I'll be right there."

Aubrey hung up the phone, tears threatening to spill from her eyes at Stacie's acquiescence. Aubrey closed her eyes, taking slow deep breaths and staying like that until she heard the knock on the door.

She got up and opened it, her countenance crumbling as soon as she saw Stacie. She collapsed into her arms, crying on her shoulder as she clinged to her, her fingers grasping her shirt tightly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Stacie held her tightly despite the surprise. She nudged her inside and closed the door, leading her towards her bedroom.

She pried Aubrey off of herself and laid her down on the bed before turning off the light and lying down next to her. She wrapped her arms tightly around her and the blonde pressed herself closer.

"It's okay, I've got you." Stacie rubbed her back and kissed her temple.

After a while she felt Aubrey's breaths getting more even, and her crying finally subsiding.

Aubrey rolled over, reaching for a tissue and blowing her nose before returning to the safety of Stacie's arms. She looked up, pecking Stacie's cheek before returning her head to Stacie's shoulder.

Stacie squeezed her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now." She breathed in Stacie's scent. "Thank you for coming."

She pulled back to look at Stacie's face. She traced Stacie's nose with her index finger, continuing along her cheekbone and down her jaw. She leaned forward slowly and stopped before her lips touched Stacie's.

Stacie closed the remaining distance, pressing her lips against Aubrey's. It was a soft kiss, Stacie only meant to reassure Aubrey, but Aubrey deepened it, trying to lose herself in Stacie, to only feel Stacie's lips against her own and her arms around her.

"Bree." Stacie slowed down the kiss, trying to catch her breath. She trailed a path of kisses up her jaw and Aubrey's hands sneaked under her shirt.

Stacie grabbed Aubrey's wrist, stopping it from moving. Aubrey opened her eyes. "I just want to feel you."

Stacie nodded and let go, pecking her lips softly. "I don't want to have sex like this."

"We won't, just-" Aubrey exhaled against her lips. "Just stay here. Talk to me."

"Okay."

Stacie rolled onto her back, pulling Aubrey on top of her with her arms still wrapped tightly around her. She hummed, thinking about what she could talk about. She knew Aubrey didn't really care what she said, she just needed a distraction.

"Have I told you about the time I broke my arm?" Aubrey shook her head. "I was eight and my parents took us to an apple orchard. We went apple picking and had a picnic under one of the trees, it was great." Aubrey smiled, her fingers tracing small circles on the skin under her shirt. "So, after we finished eating my brother dared me to climb one of the trees, and well, I was eight so of course I did it. When I was about halfway up I realized how high I was and I froze. I stood there panicked for what felt like hours." Stacie chuckled. "I tried to move my foot to a lower branch but I slipped and fell on my arm."

Stacie nudged Aubrey to the side and lifted her arm, pointing at a scar on her forearm. "It broke in two places, they had to put in screws."

Aubrey traced the scar with her finger. "Did it hurt?"

"A lot."

Aubrey gave the scar a quick kiss before laying her head on Stacie's chest, matching her breaths to Stacie's heartbeat and moving her hand back to Stacie's torso under her shirt.

"It's the anniversary of my dad's death." Aubrey said softly.

"I'm sorry." Stacie squeezed Aubrey's arm. "Were you close?"

Aubrey nodded, feeling her eyes filling up again. She didn't think she could say anything else without breaking down again so she closed her eyes and focused on Stacie's heartbeat again.

Stacie didn't say anything else, she just tightened her hold on Aubrey, tracing her spine ligtly, the soft caresses lulling her to sleep.

"Stace?" Stacie hummed a response. "Don't leave me."

"I won't."

* * *

Aubrey woke up, smiling wryly when she noticed Stacie was awake and looking at her. "Hey."

"Hey." Stacie returned the smile. "How are you feeling?"

Aubrey frowned slightly, remembering why she'd called Stacie, and scooting closer to her. "Better."

"Good."

"I'm sorry I- I mean, I didn't know if-" Aubrey exhaled and looked at Stacie. "Thank you."

"Of course."Stacie kissed her quickly. "You know I'm always here for you, no matter what."

Aubrey sighed relieved and settled down next to Stacie. Aubrey didn't know what was going to happen between them but she knew one thing for sure. She turned her head, looking at Stacie and taking her hand, waiting until Stacie looked back at her. "I love you."


	34. A Little Doubt Goes a Long Way

Stacie wasn't sure how this had happened, but the fact was that she was dating Aubrey. Actually, she was double dating Aubrey with Beca and Chloe. Not in a polyamorous way. Not that she had anything against that, and the thought of Aubrey being in a relationship of any kind with Beca amused her to no end, but Beca and Chloe were dating each other, and Aubrey and Stacie tagged along on their own unofficial date.

The first time it happened it hadn't really been a double date. Beca asked her, reluctantly, to join her on one of her dates with Chloe because Aubrey had been having a bad day, and while Chloe didn't have a problem with Aubrey hanging out with them, Aubrey hated feeling like a third wheel. Of course it didn't help that part of what was annoying Aubrey was Beca. So Chloe suggested they take someone else, partly to keep Aubrey company and partly to act as an extra buffer, and since Stacie was the only other Bella that had had an actual conversation with Aubrey outside of rehearsal, she'd been the obvious choice.

Although this conversation might have been overplayed by one of the involved parties, because the truth was Stacie didn't really know anything about Aubrey beyond her coffee order and her love for Eastern European authors. But she guessed it was still more than what the other Bellas knew about the blonde captain, and she would have been lying if she said she wasn't interested in finding out more. So she accepted Beca's invitation and tagged along to a diner just outside of campus.

Chloe and Aubrey were already there, and Beca sat on Chloe's side of the booth, so Stacie sidled in next to Aubrey.

She could tell Aubrey wasn't her usual self, but even though Beca had told her why Chloe had insisted on bringing Aubrey, she didn't feel like she should mention it. So she did her best to act normal while, subtly, trying to cheer up Aubrey.

She thought she was doing a pretty good job, and by the time they finished dinner, after sharing a sundae in a way that would have made a ridiculously cheesy montage in a chick flick, Aubrey was actually smiling. The warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, Stacie thought, was just a feeling of accomplishment after cheering up one of her friends. Emphasis on friend.

The next time Chloe suggested a group hang - because that's what they were: hangs, not dates - she said yes, maybe a little too eagerly. And she purposefully ignored the fact that whenever she'd spaced out in class that week she'd thought about Aubrey's smile, or that whenever she'd caught her gaze during rehearsal she'd feel her stomach flip.

And of course it had been completely normal that she and Aubrey had taken a little longer picking their golf clubs before mini golf, letting Beca and Chloe start without them because, even though Chloe had invited them, they didn't want to intrude too much. And the way Aubrey responded to Stacie's flirty banter was just Aubrey's competitive streak, she wasn't actually flirting with her. It was meant to distract her, that was all, and Stacie wasn't going to give her the benefit of losing without a fight.

So when Aubrey stepped up to her just before she took her last shot, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and whispering that she didn't want her to claim that she'd lost only because her hair was blocking her view, Stacie knew that it was just a ploy to make her miss her shot. Which she did, by a lot. But losing was worth it for the smug sway of Aubrey's hips as she walked to return their clubs.

And yes, maybe at that point Stacie realized that the way her stomach had lurched and her mouth had gone dry wasn't a reaction she had with a friend, but Aubrey would never agree to go out with her, so these group hangs were good enough.

That was until Beca ran to her at the end of rehearsal one day. "Say no."

"What?" Stacie frowned confused at her, but Beca was prevented from explaining further when Chloe joined them.

"Hey, Stace, we were thinking about going bowling tonight, do you want to come?"

Beca widened her eyes pointedly and Stacie slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Chlo, I have a study group meeting."

Beca smiled widely but Chloe frowned. "Oh, well some other time then."

"Sure."

Chloe left, probably to tell Aubrey Stacie wasn't going, and Beca exhaled. "Thanks."

"Why can't I go bowling?" Stacie asked with a slight pout.

"Dude, I love you but-" Beca pulled her to the side. "-I don't want to hang out with Aubrey that much and Chloe only asks you so she can enable your weird dates with her."

"What? They're not dates." Stacie laughed nervously.

Beca arched an eyebrow. "Whatever, the point is I'm done, so you either ask her out or find someone else's dates to ruin."

"I can't just ask her out!" Stacie whispered urgently, looking over Beca's shoulder at Aubrey and Chloe.

"Why not? Walk up to her and tell her your sexual tension is annoying everyone around you."

"Beca, I'm being serious!" Stacie whined.

"Me too! She's clearly attracted to you, just ask her out."

Stacie stiffened her body when Beca tugged on her arm to push her towards Aubrey. "The fact that she's attracted to me doesn't mean she'd date me or, even if she did, that it would go well."

"Beca!" Chloe called from the door.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Fine, be an idiot. I'm leaving."

* * *

"Stacie can't come."

"Oh" Aubrey tried not to look too disappointed but Chloe noticed. "Did she say why?"

"She had a study group meeting." Chloe tilted her head. "You know, I don't mind going out with you and Stacie, but maybe you could ask her out. Just the two of you."

"Why would I want to do that?" Aubrey mumbled, turning away and grabbing her bag.

"Aubrey." Chloe sighed. "I haven't said anything because, I don't know, I thought that by now you would've figured it out yourself, but you like her and she clearly likes you."

"It's not like that, Chloe."

"Come on, Aubrey, I know you." She squeezed her arm. "Why are you fighting this?"

"There's nothing to fight." Aubrey pulled away. "I'll see you back home."

If Aubrey was being honest with herself, she knew she had feelings for Stacie that went beyond friendship. And she would love to move on from the double date deal they had going on with Beca and Chloe, spending this much time with Beca was less than ideal, but Stacie was so out of her league they weren't even playing the same game. Not to mention the fact that Stacie had watched a video of her projectile vomiting and Aubrey had been making everyone's lives hell for the past few months.

No, someone like Stacie would never go out with her. Stacie needed someone fun, someone whose priority wasn't a capella. And even if she agreed to go out with her, she wouldn't take too long to realize that Aubrey wasn't right for her.

Chloe had always been the one who suggested their group outings, and Aubrey would have protested if she hadn't been enjoying herself so much. And part of what made it so easy was the lack of pressure. It wasn't a date, she was just out with her friend. Her very hot friend who she thought about constantly.

Maybe Stacie turning down Chloe had been for the best. What they were doing, whatever it was, was only making Aubrey's feelings for Stacie grow. She needed to stop.

* * *

Aubrey walked through the crowd outside the park but she couldn't find anyone. She took out her phone exasperated, talking as soon as Chloe picked up. "Chloe, where are you?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm not gonna be able to make it."

"What?" Aubrey rolled her eyes. "You texted me five minutes ago that you were almost here."

"Yeah, I lied a little." Chloe said unapologetically. "Have fun though."

Aubrey frowned. "Have fun? I'm not staying here on my own."

"Aubrey!"

Aubrey turned, seeing Stacie pushing through the crowd to her side.

"What's Stacie doing here?" Aubrey whispered, turning away from where Stacie was coming from.

"It's a date. Without me and Beca."

"Chloe!" Aubrey protested. "I told you-"

"I know what you said and it's bullshit." Stacie reached Aubrey and tugged on her arm making her turn. "It's going to be great, relax."

Aubrey smiled at Stacie. "Right. I have to go."

"Hey." Stacie said as soon as Aubrey lowered her phone. "Have you seen Chloe and Beca?"

"No, that was Chloe." Aubrey waved her phone. "They're not gonna make it."

"Oh." Stacie frowned but Aubrey didn't think she looked too disappointed, she just looked confused. "Beca gave me this earlier." Stacie lifted a picnic basket. "Hopefully she packed something good."

"Chloe gave me the tickets." Aubrey smiled.

They looked at each other slightly awkwardly for a few seconds. Stacie bit her lip and tilted her head. "We might as well enjoy ourselves."

Aubrey nodded, leading Stacie to the entrance of the park. They walked to the area where the movie was being shown and picked a place around the middle of the field.

Stacie put down the basket and took out a blanket from the top, laying it down on the grass. They sat down side by side facing the screen.

"What else is in there?" Aubrey pointed at the basket.

Stacie pulled it closer and looked inside. She took out a small container and lifted it up. "This looks like cheese." She took out something else. "Olives. Oh! Wine."

She put the bottle down and handed Aubrey the corkscrew. Aubrey uncorked the bottle while Stacie finished taking out the food.

"I don't think there are glasses in here." Stacie said, her hand sweeping across the bottom of the basket. There was a piece of paper stuck to it and she pulled it out, chuckling when she read it.

"What's that?" Aubrey asked.

"Nothing." Stacie scrunched up the paper and put it in her pocket. "No glasses."

Aubrey shrugged and lifted the bottle to her lips, taking a swig and passing it to Stacie who arched an eyebrow at her but took a drink.

The movie started shortly after and they settled back, eating and passing the bottle to each other every few minutes. They'd both watched the movie before so they didn't need to pay too much attention. Which was good because Stacie wasn't sure she could pay attention to anything other than Aubrey, and Aubrey had been drinking a little too much in an attempt to relax.

Halfway through the movie they ran out of food and Stacie packed up all the containers again, leaving the almost empty bottle between them.

Stacie leaned closer to Aubrey, bumping their shoulders together and turning to look at her. "This is nice."

Aubrey looked away from the screen and smiled. "Yeah."

Stacie's eyes flitted down to Aubrey's lips. "I'm glad Chloe and Beca couldn't come."

"You are?" Stacie nodded and Aubrey's heart sped up. She bit her lip. "Me too."

Stacie tucked a lock of hair behind Aubrey's ear. "Do you think we could do this again? Without them?"

"Like a date?" Stacie nodded, tracing Aubrey's hairline with her index finger. "Are you sure?"

Stacie frowned confused. "I was more sure a second ago, but yes."

Aubrey scooted closer to Stacie. "I'm boring and uptight and care too much about a capella."

Stacie smiled, her hand moving down to cup Aubrey's cheek. "You're smart and driven and super hot."

Stacie leaned forward, her lips pressing softly against Aubrey's in a slow kiss.

Aubrey closed her eyes, she wasn't sure how this was happening or why, and she sort of expected to wake up any second now, but she felt Stacie's tongue glide over her lower lip and she opened her mouth, letting her deepen the kiss.

Stacie moaned and pressed forward for a few seconds before breaking the kiss. She rested her forehead on Aubrey's and smiled, catching her breath.

Aubrey tilted her head up and pecked her lips a few times before chuckling and pulling away. "Chloe's gonna be so smug about this."


	35. The Doctor Is Out

"Your six o'clock is here." The redhead behind the desk nodded and hung up the phone. "Miss Conrad? Follow me."

Stacie stood up from the couch in the waiting area and followed her down the hall and into an office. A blonde stood up from behind the desk, her smile faltering for a second when she saw her, but recovered quickly and stepped forward, holding out her hand.

"I'm Dr Posen, nice to meet you Miss Conrad." Aubrey let go of her hand and motioned at the couch.

"Oh, please, call me Stacie." Stacie checked her out as discreetly as possible as she sat.

"Stacie." Aubrey smiled and sat across from her. "On the phone you said you've been feeling stressed, can I ask what kind of work you do?"

"I work in research and development at a pharmaceutical company," Stacie said. "It's not bad in terms of hours and benefits, I get a discount for this." She smiled at Aubrey but paused when she noticed her frown. "Umm… But new drug development is mostly trial and error and there's a lot of pressure from my superiors to get positive results."

Aubrey nodded and clasped her hands together. "Listen." Aubrey unclasped her hands and leaned forward. "I don't think I'm the right person to help you with this."

Stacie frowned. "But when we talked on the phone you said-"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't-" She shook her head. "I can't help you, Stacie, but I'll be happy to give you a referral." Aubrey stood up and walked to her desk, reaching into a drawer and taking out a business card. "Just tell him I sent you."

Stacie stared confused at the card Aubrey was offering. She didn't understand what happened. She'd talked to Aubrey on the phone a few days back and everything seemed okay. Stacie had liked Aubrey, and she said she could help her. She didn't understand what had changed.

"Okay." She took the card and stood up. "Thank you?"

"I'm really sorry for wasting your time." Aubrey gave her an apologetic smile and led her to the door.

"It's okay." Stacie waved the card and walked back to the reception and waited for the redhead to hang up.

She looked up and furrowed her brow as soon as she hung up. "You're done?"

"It wasn't a good fit, apparently." Stacie smiled. "When I called the other day, you told me there was another doctor here. Dr Posen gave me a referral but my company discount only works here so…"

"Of course. I can set up your appointment with Dr Roberts right now." She smiled and typed something. "She's free next Thursday, same time?"

"That's perfect, thank you." Stacie smiled.

"See you next week."

Stacie nodded and opened her mouth, hesitating and closing it again before turning around. She stopped, turning back around and walking to the desk. "Does Dr Posen usually do this? Send people away?"

The redhead arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "I'm sure Dr Posen had a good reason to do what she did."

"Yeah…" Stacie looked unsure but she smiled. "I'll see you next week."

* * *

Chloe waited until the elevator doors closed behind Stacie to walk to Aubrey's office. "What the hell just happened?"

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Chloe scoffed. "You know what I mean. You never send people away when you've already talked to them."

Aubrey shrugged and looked down. "Yeah, well, I didn't realize I couldn't help her until she was here. It happens."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at her, noticing how Aubrey was nervously playing with her hair. "Aubrey?" Aubrey looked up and Chloe could still see the faint blush on her cheeks. "Did you tell her you couldn't help her because you thought she was hot?"

"No, of course not." Chloe looked at her skeptically and Aubrey sighed. "And it wasn't just because she's hot. She's cute and gorgeous and when she smiled, I don't know, it did something to me." She shook her head to get rid of the image of Stacie's smile. "I couldn't be her therapist, it wouldn't have been right."

"Did you ask her out?"

"No! It would have been weird and I don't even know if she likes women."

Chloe growled in frustration. "But her smile did things to you!"

"It doesn't matter, Chloe. She's gone." Aubrey looked down again and tapped her fingers on her desk. "I'm not gonna see her again."

"I have her number in her file if-" Aubrey glared at her and Chloe rolled her eyes. "Fine."

* * *

Stacie leaned on the desk in front of Chloe while she waited.

"So, Stacie, are you single?"

Stacie arched an eyebrow. She'd been going there for a month now and she usually talked to Chloe before her appointment started. "Why? Are you asking me out?"

Chloe laughed. "No."

"Good, cause you're not really my type." Stacie stuck her tongue out.

"Female?"

"Married." Stacie pointed at Chloe's wedding ring. "I don't really have a problem with dating women."

"That's good to know." Chloe grinned.

She was about to say something else when Aubrey came out holding a file.

"Chloe, do you have my-" She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Stacie leaning on the counter.

"Hi." Stacie smiled at her. She'd been hoping to run into Aubrey sooner or later, even though she wasn't exactly sure why.

"Hi." Aubrey echoed and turned around, walking back to her office.

Stacie frowned, watching Aubrey's retreating form until she was out of sight, and turned to Chloe. "That was weird, right?"

Chloe grimaced. "She's probably busy."

"Right." Stacie shook her head.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Chloe's desk phone.

* * *

"Hold the door!"

Aubrey inwardly cursed when she heard Stacie's voice and reached out to press the door close button repeatedly. The doors started closing but Stacie's hand shot out, stopping them when they were still half open.

Aubrey huffed and inched back to the far corner of the elevator, trying to ignore the fluttering in her heart when Stacie smiled at her.

"Hey."

Aubrey nodded and took out her phone, opening her email app and trying her best to ignore Stacie's presence.

"I feel like I should apologize for something but I'm not sure what that something is." Stacie said after they'd gone down a few floors.

Aubrey's brow furrowed confused and she looked up at her. "Apologize to me?"

"Yes." Stacie sighed. "I saw you press the door close button." Aubrey blushed embarrassed. "And every time you see me, you walk away."

"And you want to apologize for that." Aubrey bit her lip to keep herself from smiling at how adorable Stacie was.

"I must have done something to make you act that way." Stacie shrugged helplessly. The elevator stopped on the first floor and Stacie gave Aubrey a sad smile before stepping out. "I'll see you around, Dr Posen."

Aubrey stepped forward, wanting to say something but not knowing what. The doors closed and she leaned her forehead on the cold metal. "Idiot."

* * *

Stacie tapped her fingers on Chloe's desk. "So what's the deal with Dr Posen?"

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Stacie shrugged feigning nonchalance. "Does she hate everyone or is it just me."

Chloe snorted. "She doesn't hate you." Stacie looked at her skeptically. "She really doesn't."

"Then why does she act so weird around me?" Stacie pouted.

"Does she?"

Stacie rolled her eyes. "Chloe! I've been coming here every week for the past three months. I don't really need to come every week, but I still do in case I run into her. Which makes no sense because it's happened five times, three of which she turned around and walked away, one time she just stared at the wall until I left, and the other day she tried to close the elevator doors on me."

Chloe tried not to laugh but failed, earning a glare from Stacie. "I'm sorry."

"I just don't get it." Stacie sighed. "Maybe I do need to come every week because I feel like I'm going crazy." Stacie deflated and Chloe felt bad for her.

She looked around to check there wasn't anyone within earshot. "She usually takes a coffee break at the coffee shop on the first floor around five."

"Okay…" Stacie didn't understand why Chloe was telling her that.

Chloe didn't get how someone could be so oblivious. "Maybe next week you should stop and get coffee before your appointment."

"Oh!" Stacie nodded. "Yes, I will do that."

"Good." Chloe shook her head. "And maybe try talking about your problems in therapy and not while you're waiting for it to start. I don't get paid for this."

* * *

Stacie looked at the blonde sitting at the corner of the shop. She took a deep breath before walking up to her and tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey."

"Stacie." Stacie tried not to react to the panic she saw in Aubrey's eyes. "What- what are you doing here?"

Stacie gave her a lopsided grin. "I got out of work early and I thought I'd grab some coffee before my appointment." She pointed at the chair in front of her. "May I join you?"

"Sure." Aubrey pursed her lips and closed the book she was reading. "How are things going with Dr Roberts?"

"Great, she's good." Stacie nodded.

"Good." Aubrey nodded awkwardly and looked down. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"No, it's fine. I'm glad." Aubrey looked up with a frown. "That sounded wrong. I'm sure you're a great therapist."

"Thank you." Aubrey said flatly.

Stacie shook her head and looked away. "This is really not how this was supposed to go."

Aubrey chuckled. "It's okay, Stacie. I'm glad you like Dr Roberts."

Stacie looked back at Aubrey. "Wow."

"What?" Aubrey arched an eyebrow.

"Nothing, I just hadn't seen you smile since the day we met." She looked at her for a few seconds and then cleared her throat. "How are you?"

"I'm good." Aubrey tilted her head and smiled again. "People don't usually ask me that."

"Aubrey?" Stacie hadn't called her by her name until then. "Do you want to go out sometime?"

"With you?" Stacie nodded. "On a date?"

"You're straight." Stacie's face fell.

"No, I'm not." Aubrey shook her head.

Stacie frowned and opened her mouth a few times in confusion. "You don't think I'm hot?"

Aubrey studied Stacie for a while. "Stacie, has anyone ever turned down a date with you?" Stacie shook her head and Aubrey leaned forward. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Are you seriously shrinking me right now?" Stacie scoffed and stood up. "I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Stacie." Aubrey grabbed her wrist when she walked by her. "I'm sorry, that was stupid. You just caught me off guard." Stacie kept stubbornly looking away and Aubrey slid her hand down, squeezing her fingers. "I never said I wouldn't go out with you."

Stacie looked down at her. "So you do want to go out with me?"

"Why do you think I refused to be your therapist?"


	36. Waiting

Aubrey was immediately tackled when she walked into the room.

"You came!"

A blur of red hair obscured her vision and Aubrey chuckled, trying to keep her balance. "Of course I did."

Chloe pulled back and skipped excitedly, grabbing Aubrey's hand and pulling her further into the apartment. "Most of the girls are already here," she said, leading her to the living room where the rest of the Bellas were already gathered.

"Aubrey!" The girls stood up to greet her while Chloe went into the kitchen to get her a drink.

After Fat Amy released her, she sat back and looked around the room, her heart sinking when she realized Stacie wasn't there. "Is anyone else coming?"

"Jessica and Ashley called. They're on their way."

"Oh." Aubrey nodded.

Chloe came back and handed her a glass, which she took a big gulp out of. The main reason she'd agreed to this reunion was because she'd hoped Stacie would be there.

"Emily isn't coming?" Chloe arched an eyebrow, she didn't think Aubrey had ever talked to Emily.

"She's visiting her family in Connecticut or something."

Aubrey nodded, pretending to think about who else was missing while she kept drinking from the glass in her hand.

"What about Stacie?" Aubrey tried to sound casual but Chloe shot her a look.

The other girls looked at each other, shrugging. "I haven't talked to her in months."

"I thought she was in a sub somewhere in the Pacific," Beca said.

"Do you think she broke up with that dude she was dating? He was hot."

Aubrey choked on her drink. "She's dating someone?"

"Well, it's Stacie so dating is a broad term." Cythia Rose said with a smirk.

Aubrey downed her drink and stood up, excusing herself and making her way to the kitchen. She started mixing a new drink for herself, adding more vodka than was probably wise, and leaned back on the counter to drink it. She didn't feel like going back out and listening to Stacie's maybe boyfriend, or anyone else she might be sleeping with.

She looked up when she heard the door, inwardly groaning when she spotted Chloe.

"What was that?" Chloe asked.

"What was what?" Aubrey asked with a shrug.

"The weirdness about Stacie?" Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "I know you, Aubrey, you couldn't get out of there fast enough."

Aubrey sighed pushing off the counter and taking a large sip from her drink. "I slept with Stacie a few months ago."

"What?" Aubrey shushed Chloe when she yelled. Chloe lowered her voice. "How?"

Aubrey arched her eyebrows. "Well, Chloe… when two people like each other-"

"That's not what I meant." Chloe glared at her. "I didn't know you talked to her."

"I don't!" Aubrey sat down on one of the chairs around Chloe's small breakfast nook. "I was consulting at a hotel in San Francisco and I ran into her and she looked-" She paused, sighing at the memory of seeing Stacie for the first time in years. She looked hotter than she remembered, and she smiled warmly at her, her stomach fluttering in a way she'd almost forgotten. "-she looked amazing."

"And then you had sex?"

"Not immediately. She said she was staying there for a few days and we agreed to meet for dinner. And then one thing led to another and…" Aubrey trailed off with a grimace.

"And then you had sex."

"Yes. We met the next two nights as well, and then she left and we didn't speak again." Aubrey looked down, swirling her drink and watching the liquid intently.

Chloe frowned, studying Aubrey. "You like her."

"Chloe, I slept with her, I clearly-"

"No, you really like her." Chloe shook her head confused. "Why didn't you call her?"

"I didn't know if she wanted me to. We didn't really talk about what was going to happen afterwards." Aubrey shrugged. She had thought about asking Stacie if she'd be interested in seeing each other again but she didn't want to ruin their time together. She figured that the lack of contact was a clear indicator that Stacie had no interest in anything more. "And now she didn't even show up to this and she's apparently dating someone."

Chloe schoffed. "That might not even be true, you know how the girls usually jump to conclusions. And even if it was true, maybe it was before you and her happened."

Aubrey didn't look too convinced but she nodded, downing the rest of her drink and standing up to serve herself some more.

The door opened again and Beca walked in. "What are you doing? Amy's already getting drunk and I think I heard Lilly mumble something about fire."

"We'll be right there." She gave Beca a pointed look and waited until she closed the door to stand up. "Come on, let's go have fun. I'll change the subject if they bring up Stacie again."

Aubrey gave her a lopsided smile and nodded. "I'm gonna need another drink."

* * *

Aubrey rolled over in her sleep. She had stayed in Chloe's spare bedroom while the rest of the girls split up between the living room and a hotel nearby. She wasn't awake yet but she wasn't fully asleep either when she felt something, more like sensed it. Like the air in the room changed. She felt someone brush back her hair and she leaned into their touch, the feeling strange and familiar at the same time. The feeling was gone too fast and Aubrey slipped back into a deeper sleep with a smile still on her face.

She blinked up at the ceiling a few hours. She had a vague memory of the feeling from before, she felt a slight pressure at the pit of her stomach when she thought about it. The only person who made her feel that way was… "Stacie."

She frowned. Stacie hadn't been there, she was imagining things. She had tried to avoid thinking about Stacie after the incident but she failed miserably. She had almost called her a bunch of times but stopped herself. It had just been a fling, at least for Stacie, and trying to make it more than it was would just lead to one of them, probably her, getting hurt. But she still felt her heart syncopate whenever she remembered their time together.

She sighed, looking at the time on her phone and figuring Chloe or one of the other girls were probably up by now. She left the room, smiling when she caught the scent of freshly brewed coffee and making her way to the kitchen. She stopped short when she pushed the door open and a very familiar figure was leaning on the counter, a smirk crossing her features.

"You're here."

Stacie's smirk turned into a smile and she walked towards Aubrey. "Yeah, I got in a couple hours ago. I'm sorry I'm late." She placed her hand on Aubrey's hip and squeezed it lightly. "I've missed you."

Aubrey's heart stopped and she lifted her hands to Stacie's shoulders. "Why didn't you call?"

"I didn't think you wanted me to."

"I did."

Stacie's hand travelled up to her waist, her free hand moving to push back a strand of Aubrey's hair. "I know that now."

Aubrey arched her eyebrows. "Chloe?"

Stacie shrugged. "In her defense, she didn't say anything until I told her how much I'd thought about you these past months."

"Oh?"

Stacie took a step closer, pulling Aubrey forward and leaning down, her nose brushing against Aubrey's and taking a deep breath. "What do you think about going out with me after this reunion is done?"

Aubrey pouted. "I think I've waited long enough."

Stacie pecked her lips softly. "It's just two more days."

Aubrey hummed and kissed her a few times. "Are we telling them?"

"That's up to you, but I think they're gonna find out if you keep kissing me."

Aubrey chuckled and kissed her one more time. "I think you're right, we should tell them."

Stacie smiled widely and captured Aubrey's lips in a deeper kiss, her arms wrapping around her waist. Aubrey responded to the kiss, tangling her hands in Stacie's hair and reveling in the feeling of being in Stacie's arms again.

Aubrey broke the kiss and panted against Stacie's lips for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath. She looked up with a serious expression. "Don't leave me waiting like that again."

The side of Stacie's mouth curved up. "Never."


	37. Auction

Omega Beta Zeta's charity auction was one of the biggest annual fundraisers by a Barden student group. Stacie had heard about the auction from the older girls, but she hadn't expect the turnout to be this large. Fidgeting nervously, she peeked from behind the curtain as the bids for the girl before her went up to a hundred dollars. She hoped she could bring in just as much, not that she doubted her appeal, but being a freshman meant she went after all of the older girls were bid on, emptying people's pockets before they could even see her.

Stacie wasn't thrilled when she found out about the fact that they were auctioning themselves, but the girls were quick to assure her that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Only Barden students could bid on her, and they couldn't ask her to do anything illegal, ask her to wear anything specific, or touch her. Most of the bidders were boys from Barden's fraternities and they knew that, if either of them got out of line they would be severely punished, not to mention risk losing their charter. So guys mostly asked for the girls to do their chores or help them study for a class.

The auctioneer, their chapter president, closed the bidding for the girl at one hundred and eighty dollars, leading her off the stage and starting Stacie's introduction. After letting out a nervous breath, Stacie smiled broadly and stepped onto the stage, waving at the audience which she, thankfully, couldn't see well because of the spotlights on her.

She relaxed a little when the bidding started way over the twenty dollars the auctioneer suggested, quickly escalating and reaching three hundred dollars when two particularly stubborn frat boys started trying to outbid each other, and ending when one of them shouted his final five hundred dollar bid. Stacie chuckled when the guy whooped loudly, pumping his fists as his frat brothers lifted him up. Blowing a kiss at him, Stacie walked off the stage where a group of her sorority sisters surrounded her immediately to congratulate her.

The excitement over the successful auction passed quickly, and Stacie started dreading the day the guy, Howie apparently, was set to pick her up. Stacie fretted over what to wear, not wanting to wear something too revealing so he didn't get the wrong idea, but looking good enough so that he wouldn't feel like he overpaid. She finally decided on yoga pants and a t-shirt, in case whatever he asked her to do required something more comfortable than jeans, but didn't show off her assets too much.

When the day finally came Stacie was ready to bolt. She was thinking of excuses she could use to get out of it, but her hope that frat boys weren't punctual were dashed when the doorbell rang right on time and one of the other girls called her to the door. She threw on a hoodie as an afterthought, feeling more comfortable with the extra layer even though it wasn't particularly cold out.

Stacie jogged down the stairs, taking a breath before opening the door and freezing when she found a girl on the other side. "Hi." The girl at the door was a really hot blonde, gorgeous eyes, and looked a little bit confused. "I'm Stacie and… you're not that frat guy."

"No, I won a bet and I got whatever he got at this auction." The girl frowned and handed her the ticket they gave all the auction winners. "What did he buy exactly?"

"Me!" Stacie grinned broadly, feeling like she'd won the lottery. Not only did she not have to hang out with a sleazy frat guy, but she got to hang out with a really hot girl who clearly had no idea what she was getting into. She took off her hoodie since she didn't need it anymore, throwing it over her shoulder and stepping outside, closing the door and leading the girl down the porch steps. "For whatever you want. As long as it's legal."

"What?"

The girl stopped, forcing Stacie to turn. She quirked an eyebrow and shrugged. "I guess if you can assure me we won't get caught…" She suspected she'd be willing to do a lot for this girl if she asked.

"No, that's-" She shook her head and Stacie found her incredibly adorable in her confusion. "What do you mean he bought you?"

"He didn't buy me." Stacie knew how that sounded and rolled her eyes at the whole situation. "It's more like a rental. We usually just help them with their homework or chores."

The girl arched an eyebrow. "So you do this a lot?"

"You'd be surprised how much frat boys are willing to pay to have a cute girl wash their car. And all the money goes to charity." Stacie shrugged, lifting herself onto her toes and smiled. "So, I'm all yours."

"Starting now?" Stacie nodded. "Okay… I'm Aubrey." Aubrey shook her hand and gave her a small smile, Stacie's heart fluttering happily. She was suddenly really glad she'd participated in the auction. "Let's go."

Aubrey turned and Stacie walked after her, skipping for a few steps to catch up. "Where are we going?"

"Rehearsal, then home."

"Rehearsal?"

Aubrey looked at her over her shoulder and nodded. "I the captain of the Bellas."

Stacie had heard about the Bellas from the other girls, but she didn't know much about them. "Oh right, that singing group."

Aubrey scrunched up her nose and Stacie could tell she was stopping herself from saying something. Instead, Aubrey kept walking to the other side of campus.

"How much cardio do you do?"

"Cardio?" Maybe she wasn't so excited about this anymore.

"I assume you exercise. I mean, with your… You look…" Aubrey blushed and walked a little bit faster, making Stacie smirk, at least now she knew she'd had an effect on her too which meant she wasn't totally straight. "I just thought you could help with cardio while I go over the routine with Chloe."

"Sure." Stacie jogged for a few seconds to catch up, not really happy with whatever helping with cardio meant, but more importantly... "Who's Chloe?"

"My co-captain." Aubrey stopped when they got a door to a building Stacie had never been in, her hand stopping short of the doorknob before turning back to face her. "The girls can be a bit much sometimes, just don't let them know you're nervous."

If Aubrey thought that made her less nervous, she was wrong but, before she could ask anything, Aubrey opened the door and led her into a large space where a group of girls were already waiting.

"Everyone, this is Stacie. She's gonna be helping us today."

Stacie waved awkwardly at the girls looking at her scrutinizingly.

A loud girl with an accent was the first one to talk. "Are you dating her?"

"No!"

"Why not?" Fat Amy asked.

Cynthia Rose nodded. "She's hot."

Aubrey sighed. "We're not dating, we just met."

Stacie smirked, satisfied by the fact that Aubrey dating a girl wasn't a wild idea to her friends, and that her reason for not dating her was that they just met, meaning she had a chance.

The girls looked at each other confused. "Did you buy her?"

"No!"

"Sort of." Stacie answered at the same time, endlessly amused by this conversation and Aubrey's blatant uncomfortableness.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I won her on a bet."

"Is that legal?" Beca shook her head confused.

Aubrey pinched the bridge of her nose and Stacie chuckled, stepping forward, figuring she could earn some brownie points if she explained. "I auctioned myself for charity, the guy who bid for me lost a bet to Aubrey so now I'm here."

"Nice, is she for everyone?"

"She's not." Aubrey stepped between Stacie and the rest of the girls and Stacie felt strangely pleased by Aubrey's possessiveness. "She's just gonna help with rehearsal and with some stuff at the house. Now, we've wasted enough time so if that's all…" She turned to Stacie and talked under her breath. "Just go up and down around the bleachers for a while. Don't let them slack off." She turned back to face the Bellas and clapped. "Alright, follow Stacie around the bleachers while Chloe and I go over the routine for regionals."

* * *

Stacie couldn't stop thinking about Aubrey all week. Yes, she might have suffered a bit running up and down those bleachers, and weeding her back yard hadn't been the most entertaining thing she could've come up with, but Aubrey being there the whole time made it bearable. Aside from being super hot, Aubrey was smart and funny and Stacie really wanted to see her again, but she didn't know how Aubrey would feel about that.

Stacie wasn't one to be insecure, usually, but she needed more time with Aubrey before she made her move; and since Aubrey hadn't known what the original terms of the auction were, she decided to pretend like she was still supposed to help her with things, hoping she wouldn't get too suspicious.

Aubrey had mentioned she liked the coffee shop by the Bella house so Stacie stopped by before going over. The guy at the register knew who Aubrey was right away, giving her usual to Stacie who then made her way to the house, smiling broadly when Aubrey opened the door. "Reporting for duty?"

Aubrey looked surprised to find her there, but she grabbed the coffee Stacie held out and led her outside.

Aubrey hummed, looking at the front of the house for a while and finally pointed at the front. "I guess the windows need washing, I'll go get a bucket and sponges."

Stacie watched her walk away with a smile, happy at how easy Aubrey had accepted her presence there and hoping it meant that Aubrey would be open to going out with her, she just needed to find the right time to ask her, or find more reasons to spend time with her.

"Your shutters could use a new coat of paint." Stacie commented as she wiped down the pane next to Aubrey's.

Aubrey glanced at the shutters and nodded. "I guess." She grabbed her sponge and dunked it in the bucket. "I don't think we have paint."

"I'm pretty sure there are places where they sell it."

"Smartass."

Aubrey lifted her sponge and waved it at Stacie making her gasp when the cold water hit her.

"You do not want to do that," Stacie said threateningly.

"I'm so scared." Aubrey waved her sponge again, squeezing it to get more water out.

Stacie narrowed her eyes, throwing her sponge at Aubrey's chest, landing with a wet splat before falling to the ground.

Aubrey's mouth opened in shock, frozen for a few seconds before she grabbed the bucket and lifted it, trying to pour the water on Stacie. Stacie grabbed her arms, keeping her from tipping it over, the water sloshing back and forth and getting them both wet, until Aubrey managed to turn it over, but Stacie was keeping her close and a lot of it landed on her too.

Aubrey let go of the bucket and jumped back, shaking off some of the water while Stacie laughed, pushing her now soaking wet hair away from her face. She looked up at Aubrey, panting. She could feel her shirt sticking to her chest and stomach and noticed Aubrey looking at it.

Aubrey took a step closer. "We should change."

Stacie felt a shiver run down her spine at the look in Aubrey's eyes and ran the tips of her fingers down Aubrey's forearm, tugging her closer by the wrist and nodding.

"Bree, we need to leave for rehearsal now." Chloe yelled from the front of the house

Aubrey jumped back and looked over Stacie's shoulder. "I'll be right there."

* * *

Stacie didn't really get how she got herself in this situation. Yes, Aubrey was amazing and hot, but Stacie had never gone to these lengths to get someone to go out with her. She usually didn't have to do anything, she just showed up and people lined up. And now here she was, on her third weekend of doing chores at the Bella house, on top of a ladder cleaning the gutters with only an almost kiss to show for it.

The weather had helped today, allowing her to wear her shortest pair of shorts she could find in her closet and a shirt so tight it wouldn't stick to her more if it was wet. Aubrey had been practically drooling ever since she'd shown up. She just wished there was less actual work involved and more spending time with Aubrey.

There was a particularly annoying cluster of leaves stuck on one side. Stacie tried freeing it but it wasn't coming out. She pulled harder, cursing when it stubbornly refused to move.

She heard Aubrey chuckle "Wanna take a break?"

Stacie turned to look at her, wiping her brow with the back of her forearm and leaning with her other arm on the gutter. "I wanted to finish this early so we had time to go buy the paint for the shutters?"

"You want to do that today?"

Stacie shrugged. "We can go tomorrow if you don't have plans."

Aubrey tilted her head. "You don't have plans?"

"I told you, I'm all yours." She smiled warmly, squinting down at Aubrey and wrinkling her nose.

"Well, do you want some water? It's pretty hot out here, you look…" She stopped, biting her lip and looking down at her feet blushing.

Stacie smiled, deciding to get off the ladder and turning to look at Aubrey with a seductive smile. "I look hot?"

Aubrey shook her head noncommittally. "You look like you could use some cold water."

Stacie leaned down, resting her hands on the armrests of Aubrey's lawnchair. "I am feeling a bit heated." She licked her lips and leaned closer. "Aubrey, did you know that the deal from the auction was just for one weekend?"

Aubrey frowned confused. "Then why did you come back twice?"

"I really like cleaning gutters." Stacie deadpanned, chuckling when Aubrey's frown deepened. "And I wanted an excuse to hang out with you."

Aubrey grinned, lifting her hand to trace the edge of the collar of Stacie's t-shirt. "You could ask me out."

"I could." Stacie nodded, her skin tingling from Aubrey's touch. "But then your shutters will never get painted."

"You could still do it."

Stacie leaned closer, her nose bumping against Aubrey's. "I wouldn't do it for free."

Aubrey tilted up her chin, her lips almost brushing Stacie's. "I'm sure we can work something out."

Leaning down, Stacie pressed her lips against Aubrey's softly. Aubrey straightened up, covering one of Stacie's hands on the chair and cupping Stacie's cheek with her free hand, sighing against Stacie's lips and deepening the kiss.

Stacie pulled back smiling. "I might need a little more convincing."


	38. Glasses, phone, dog

Stacie woke up to someone knocking loudly at her door. She frowned, squinting at the clock on her nightstand and groaning when she realized it was only 9 pm. She turned on the light, putting on her glasses, throwing on a hoodie and dragging her feet to the door, her eyes still half closed.

She pulled open the door, her glare immediately turning to confusion when she saw who was on the other side. "Aubrey?"

"I need your help." Aubrey bit her lip nervously and took a step forward, stopping when Stacie didn't move to let her in and nodding at the door.

"Sorry." Stacie mumbled, opening the door wider and gesturing inside. "What's wrong?"

Aubrey noticed the state of Stacie's bed and tilted her head. "Were you sleeping?"

"I was tired after my finals." Stacie shrugged and smiled. "I'm awake now, how can I help you?"

"Right." Aubrey looked down. "I need you to help me break into the Treble's house."

"What?" Stacie exclaimed loudly. "Why?"

"Fucking Bumper stole my phone, I need to get it back. It has those…" Aubrey looked down blushing. "Those pictures you sent me last week."

"Oh..." Stacie frowned in thought, trying to remember which pictures Aubrey meant, her eyes widening when she remembered what they were. "Oh! Yeah, we need that back." Stacie nodded. "So what's the plan?"

"Beca said the Trebles were going to an end of semester party so the house should be empty. We sneak in, we find the phone, we get out."

"Sounds easy enough." Stacie didn't sound so sure but she turned to put on her shoes. "Let's get your phone back."

They went down, getting into Aubrey's car to make their way to the Treble's house. Stacie turned down the volume on the radio and smiled cheekily at Aubrey. "So you kept the pictures I sent you?"

She saw Aubrey's cheeks turn red. "They were nice pictures."

"Your reply make me think you didn't like them." Stacie said with a smirk.

Aubrey sighed, leveling a glare at Stacie. "You know I did, but we can't do that again."

"Do what?"

"Have sex!" Aubrey shook her head. "I told you, it was a one time thing."

Stacie looked at the window for a moment, considering her options. "What if I took you out first?"

"Like on a date?"

"Yes, on a date." Stacie rolled her eyes when Aubrey didn't respond and just kept driving. "Aubrey, come on. The sex was amazing, we already spend tons of time together-"

"At rehearsal."

Stacie ignored Aubrey's interruption. "And I know you don't just have sex with people, there was something else there, and I think I felt it too."

"You think?" Aubrey gave her a skeptical look and turned back to the front to park around the block from the Treble's house.

Stacie waited for her to finish and look at her before she spoke again. "I like you and I want to see if this is something."

Aubrey sighed heavily. "Alright."

She opened the door and go out, leaving Stacie to hastily take off her seatbelt and follow her. "Don't sound too excited."

Aubrey stopped, turning towards Stacie and squeezing her hand. "Can we discuss this after we have the phone?"

"Fine." Stacie huffed, taking a step closer and pecking Aubrey's lips. "For good luck."

She let go of her hand and walked towards the tall hedge that surrounded the house, leaving a stunned Aubrey behind for a few seconds before she ran to catch up.

"There must be a way to get in through here." Stacie said as she walked the perimeter trying to find an opening.

Aubrey started walking in the opposite direction, calling Stacie over when she found a spot that didn't look as thick.

"I'll go first." Aubrey squeezed through, feeling the branches scraping one of her arms on the way, and stumbled out in front of the pool. She turned just in time to see Stacie getting out, muttering curses under her breath as she brushed off some stray leaves off her hair.

Aubrey chuckled and reached up, plucking out a tiny leaf and letting it fall. Stacie took advantage of Aubrey's closeness and leaned down, her lips almost touching Aubrey's. "Does this count as our first date?"

"Well you are breaking and entering for me." Aubrey tilted her chin up, closing the rest of the distance between their lips in a quick kiss and pulling back with a smile. "Come on."

Aubrey pulled Stacie around the pool and to the back door, smiling when it slid open.

"Those boys really need to learn to lock their doors." Stacie shook her head disapprovingly.

They had taken a few steps inside, sliding the door closed behind them, when they heard a growl in front of them. Aubrey froze and Stacie bumped into her back, making her stumble and startle the small dog in front of them, unleashing a string of loud yelps from it.

They started running away, trying to put as much distance between them and the tiny dog. "When the fuck did they get a dog?"

"I don't know!" Aubrey jumped on top of the couch and off the back, running towards the stairs. "Bumper's room is the first one on the right."

Stacie followed her upstairs, thankful for the hours of cardio she'd put in during rehearsal, and slamming the door shut as soon as she was inside the room. She bent over, trying to catch her breath.

The dog was yapping furiously on the other side of the door and Aubrey looked at it worriedly. "How are we getting out?"

Stacie shook her head. "I don't know."

Aubrey turned on the light, grimacing in disgust when she saw the state of Bumper's room: the floor was covered in dirty laundry and there were half empty plates of food, the items on some of which didn't even looked like food anymore.

"Gross."

Stacie scrunched up her nose. "Let's just find your phone and get out."

Stacie walked to Bumper's desk, using a pencil to poke around what was on top while Aubrey made her way to his nightstand. She opened up the first drawer, trying to decide if it was safe to stick her hand in when Stacie said, "found it!" She waved it proudly. "It was in his condom drawer, which I don't think he'll ever need considering the state of his room."

Aubrey grinned, holding out her hand to take her phone but Stacie kept it clasped in her hand. "Don't I get a reward?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Not here."

Stacie looked around and nodded. "Good choice."

She made her way back to the door where the dog was still barking furiously.

"Okay, I'll open the door, it'll come charging in and we can run out and trap him in here before he realizes what happened."

Aubrey nodded. "Maybe he'll pee on Bumper's things."

"Okay, ready?" Stacie took a deep breath and pushed Aubrey behind herself. "One… two… three!"

Stacie opened the door and the dog ran inside, turning in a big circle when it didn't see them and giving them time to run out of the room and close the door. Stacie grinned, high fiving Aubrey before walking down the stairs.

They were closing the back door on their way out when they heard someone opening the front door. They looked at each other, their eyes widening with panic and they sprinted towards the hedge, covering their faces as they crossed it.

Stacie fell forward, landing on the grass on the other side, her glasses falling somewhere on the ground.

"Stacie!" Aubrey crouched down, relaxing when Stacie started laughing and standing back up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She lifted her hand. "Help me up."

Aubrey grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet, something crunching under her foot when she did. "Shit."

* * *

Aubrey finished wrapping the tape around Stacie's glasses. They had gone back to Stacie's room to get her spare pair after Aubrey stepped on the other one.

She turned to Stacie and placed the glasses back on her face. "There, just like new." Stacie arched an eyebrow. "Almost like new."

Aubrey leaned forward and captured her lips softly, pulling back after a few seconds.

Stacie smiled. "Are you trying to distract me?"

"Is it working?"

Stacie chuckled and kissed her again. "It is a little." She grabbed Aubrey's phone and smiled. "I want my reward now."

Aubrey pushed her onto the bed on her back, straddling her, biting her lower lip and starting to unbutton her shirt. "How about I use my newly recovered phone to send you a picture?"


	39. Pi Day

Chloe stopped on her way to the couch, frowning when she heard a sound coming from the kitchen. Aubrey had class at this time, she was supposed to be alone in the apartment.

She looked around, grabbing one of Aubrey's large pre-law books, she made her way to the kitchen door slowly, trying to stay as quiet as possible. She pushed the door open, peeking inside and sighing heavily when she spotted the back of Aubrey's head.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Chloe asked, slamming the book on the counter next to Aubrey.

Aubrey jumped. "What the fuck, Chloe?"

"You're supposed to be in class!" Chloe waved her arms. "I thought you were a murderer."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow and looked at the book. "And you were gonna bludgeon me with A People's History of the Supreme Court?"

"It's the first thing I found." Chloe crossed her arms and nodded at the bowl in front of Aubrey, noticing the flour bag next to her. "You skipped class to bake?"

"I-" Aubrey squished the dough in the bowl and shrugged. "I didn't really feel like going to class and I thought I'd make something to take to rehearsal."

"You're baking for the girls?" Chloe asked confused.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I'm just making pie."

Chloe took the book to the kitchen island and sat down, casually opened it and immediately closed it, scrunching up her nose. "What kind of pie are you making?"

"Blueberry." Aubrey rolled the dough and put it in the dish, turning to work on the filling. "Everyone likes blueberry."

"Right." Chloe narrowed her eyes, slightly suspicious of Aubrey's unusual behavior, but happy enough about getting one of Aubrey's awesome pies to not comment on it. "Well I can't wait."

A while later, attracted by the smell, Chloe made her way back to the kitchen as Aubrey was taking the pie out of the oven.

Aubrey slapped her hand away. "It's hot. And you can't have any yet, you have to wait."

Chloe pouted. "Fine." She pointed at the top of the pie. "Why does it have that house thing?"

"It's not a house, it's the pi symbol." Chloe blinked blankly. "It's a greek letter." Aubrey covered the pie. "We should go, we're gonna be late."

Chloe grabbed a stack of paper plates Aubrey pointed at and walked with Aubrey to rehearsal, helping her set up a table to put the pie on when they got there.

"Can I have some now?"

Aubrey slapped her hand away again. "No, we have to wait for the girls."

"Wait for the girls for what?" Fan Amy asked as she entered the room and Chloe noticed how Aubrey straightened up.

"Aubrey baked a pie for us." Chloe replied with a smirk.

"Oh my god!" Stacie exclaimed and everyone watched as she skipped excitedly towards the table. "I can't believe you made pie for Pi Day!"

"What day?" Ashley asked.

"Pi Day! March 14. Three fourteen?" Stacie rolled her eyes when no one looked like they understood and turned back to Aubrey. "You even made a pi pie crust!"

Aubrey matched Stacie's smile and took a step closer to her, momentarily forgetting the rest of the girls were there. "It's blueberry."

"I love blueberry pie."

"I know."

They stared at each other smiling until Fat Amy cleared her throat. "So can we eat it or…?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." Aubrey smiled stiffly and stepped back to grab the knife, slicing up the pie and passing it around.

Stacie waited for her to finish and took her plate to where she was standing, smiling widely. "You made pie for me."

"I didn't make it for you." Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I made it for everyone."

"You made Pi Day pie for me." Stacie said smugly. "Is this your way of apologizing?"

Aubrey frowned. "Apologizing for what?"

"For not asking me out the moment you met me?"

Aubrey shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

"And you still made me pie." Stacie smiled, leaning closer to Aubrey and whispering. "You haven't asked me out."

"I baked a pie for you, you can ask me out."

Aubrey wiped some blueberry filling from the corner of Stacie's mouth with her thumb and stuck it in her mouth before walking away and joining Chloe who had been looking at them with a curious expression.

"What was that about?"

"Pie."


	40. Skype Hijack

The first time it happened it was a coincidence. Beca had come into their room and asked Chloe if she could go with her to listen to a mix she wanted to use for regionals. She must have forgotten about her weekly call with Aubrey, but she left her computer on her bed, on and unlocked. When the incoming Skype call ringtone started, interrupting Stacie's homework, she stood up and walked over to Chloe's bed to shut off her laptop, her hand hovering over the keys when she saw who it was.

She sat down on the bed and accepted the call, smiling when Aubrey's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey!"

"Hi." Aubrey looked surprised and a bit confused, but she managed to smile. "You're not Chloe."

"That is correct." Stacie smirked. "Beca needed her to listen to a mix so she left, I'm sure she'll be right back. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, thanks. How's school?"

Stacie exhaled dramatically. "Hard. I'm taking way too many classes this semester."

"You're smart, you'll figure it out. You always do."

"But I don't have anyone who's willing to sit in the library with me after practice anymore." Stacie pouted.

Aubrey chuckled. "I miss you too."

Stacie couldn't control the huge smile that took over her face. "You should come visit more often, you'd miss me a lot less."

Aubrey rolled her eyes but she was still smiling. "I'll think about it."

The door slammed open and Chloe rushed back in. "Did I miss Aubrey?"

"Nope, I was keeping her entertained. I hope." Stacie waved her fingers. "Bye, Bree. Come visit us."

Stacie got up, letting Chloe take her spot and went back to her own bed, throwing one wistful look at the computer before going back to studying.

The next time Aubrey called, Stacie made sure she was in the room. Since the call didn't really have a fixed time, Chloe and Aubrey settled it over text, Stacie had been fidgeting on her bed for over an hour pretending to read while Chloe did something on her computer. When she finally heard the skype call coming in, she straightened up but kept up her reading act, even though she was really more focused on Aubrey and Chloe's conversation. After a while, Stacie started getting antsy. She didn't really know how to interrupt without it looking too obvious.

Chloe was telling Aubrey about their set for regionals, which Stacie deemed less important than her saying hi to Aubrey, so she stood up and walked over to Chloe's side of the room. "Chlo, do you think I can borrow your-" She pretended to just notice Chloe was talking to Aubrey and looked at the screen. "Oh, hey, Bree."

"Hi, Stace." Aubrey said with a barely contained smile.

"How's work been?"

"Busy, as usual." Aubrey pursed her lips for a second and then added. "Otherwise I would've had time to go visit you... guys. Chloe told me your set for regionals is pretty good."

"It is. You better come see us perform, we need our captain there."

Chloe pushed Stacie to the side and turned her computer towards her. "Seriously, Bree, you can't miss it."

"I'll do my best." Aubrey promised.

Chloe had started talking about something else, ignoring Stacie's presence next to her bed. Stacie felt awkward just standing there and she figured she shouldn't interrupt again just to say goodbye so she went back to her bed, picking up her book again and really trying to read this time, even though she couldn't really concentrate with the sound of Aubrey's voice in the background.

Just before Chloe ended the call, she heard Aubrey tell Chloe to say goodbye to her. Stacie pretended to be absorbed by her book, hiding her smile behind her hand, and didn't turn until Chloe called her name after she'd hung up to tell her what Aubrey had said.

Stacie skipped a couple of calls after that. She didn't want Aubrey to realize that she was there on purpose, and she did have a lot of studying to do, but she ended up mostly thinking about how she could be talking to Aubrey instead of being in the library.

The call following those mildly unsuccessful attempts at staying away, Stacie decided to walk into the room a few minutes after she heard Chloe pick up.

"Hi, Chlo."

"Hey Stace." Chloe nodded at her absentmindedly but Aubrey stopped talking for a second.

"Hi, Stacie!" Stacie heard her say cheerily over the computer speaker and smiled.

She walked over, and kneeled behind the computer, looking down at the screen from the top, and waved her hand in front of the camera. "Hey, stranger."

"I can't see you." Aubrey said with a slight whine.

Stacie chuckled and threw herself across Chloe's bed in front of where the redhead was sitting, resting her head on her hand. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you."

Stacie could feel her heart beat faster at the sight of Aubrey's smile. "So, the dumbest thing happened at the library today… I was studying at our table and-"

"My table." Aubrey interrupted.

"Our table." Stacie rolled her eyes. Technically, Aubrey had always studied at that table, but when Stacie started joining her at the library it sort of became theirs. "So this guy sits in your spot, which, I mean, fine, it's not like you're gonna suddenly appear and need it, right?"

"You shouldn't let people sit in my spot." Aubrey pouted.

"I can't just stop people from sitting there forever."

"Have you tried?"

"No." Stacie chuckled. "Well, anyway. He sat there and I-"

Chloe huffed and got up. "I have things to do, I'll talk to you later, Bree."

Stacie watched Chloe and bit her lip. "Do you think she's mad?"

"She'll be fine, I'll text her later." Aubrey reassured her. "So, what happened after that guy usurped my seat?"

Stacie smiled, pleased that Aubrey hadn't been bothered by her hijacking the call and finished telling her the story.

After this happened, Stacie would often take over Chloe's call to the redhead's increasing annoyance. And even though she was encouraged by Aubrey's lack of complaints, she was starting to feel like it wasn't enough.

She was on her bed, thinking about how she could breach the subject to Aubrey, maybe make a joking comment about calling her in case Aubrey seemed completely against the idea, when Chloe came into the room hugging her laptop.

"You need to leave."

Stacie's head snapped up to look at Chloe. "What? Why?"

"Aubrey's calling."

Stacie frowned. "And you don't want me here when she does?"

"No, I need to talk to her about something. In private."

Stacie's face fell and she nodded silently, getting up and walking out of the room, looking back at Chloe before closing the door behind herself.

Stacie stomped into Jessica and Ashley's room and flopped down on one of the beds. Ashley had been on her desk and Jessica was sitting on the other bed. They both looked at Stacie for a second before exchanging a worried look.

Jessica got up and sat down next to Stacie, tentatively patting her shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"Chloe kicked me out." Stacie's voice was muffled by the mattress.

Jessica exchanged another look with Ashley, who just shrugged. "Sometimes people, even Chloe, need privacy. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."

Stacie turned to look at Jessica frowning. "She didn't want me there when Aubrey called. Do you think Aubrey asked her to kick me out?" Jessica started shrugging and opening her mouth to reply but Stacie kept talking. "Why wouldn't Aubrey want to talk to me? Did I do something?"

Jessica looked at Ashley insistently and she left her desk chair and joined them on the bed. "Maybe Chloe just wanted to talk about Beca or something without you overhearing."

"Or she wanted to complain about your roommate annoyances." Ashley shook her head at Jessica's comment.

Stacie scoffed. "She's the more annoying one, at least my side of the room doesn't look like my closet exploded every time I go out."

"Maybe Aubrey wanted to talk about you," Jessica said with a shrug.

"Why would Aubrey want to talk about her? We haven't seen her in months." Ashley asked Jessica, ignoring Stacie.

"I don't know, maybe she still has a crush on her."

"Maybe." Ashley nodded pensively.

Stacie, who had been looking between them while they talked, suddenly gasped. "Wait, wait, wait. When did she have a crush on me?"

Jessica snorted. "Always."

Ashley tugged on Jessica's sleeve. "We don't know for sure."

"Please, she looked at her like she was made of chocolate and rainbows."

"She did," Ashley confirmed, "and she did spend more time with you than with anyone else in the team."

"We studied together." Stacie shook her head. "Aubrey didn't have a crush on me, she couldn't, she's not- I'm not-" Stacie sighed defeatedly. "She wouldn't like someone like me."

"Like what?" Jessica nudged Stacie. "Smart? Funny?"

"Smoking hot?" Jessica arched an eyebrow at Ashley and she just shrugged. "Have you even talked to her lately?"

"Just when she calls Chloe and I'm there."

"And?" Ashley asked.

"And nothing! We just talk about random stuff." Stacie shrugged. "And now she doesn't want to talk to me anymore."

Stacie pressed her face back against the mattress and Jessica and Ashley shared a look.

Ashley looked at Stacie and tilted her head. "She's gonna have to change."

"Why? She looks good."

"Well, yeah, she always does. But she could look like she's trying a bit harder than usual."

Jessica nodded. "It's kinda late though, and we have school tomorrow. Maybe she should wait until Friday."

"That's probably a better idea."

Stacie had turned back, confused by this conversation. "Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Both Jessica and Ashley gave her sheepish looks. "What are you even talking about."

"You going to visit Aubrey?" Jessica replied.

Stacie's frown deepened. "Why would I do that?"

"To tell her you like her," Ashley deadpanned like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But- I-" Stacie opened and closed her mouth trying to find the right words. "I can't just show up there, we haven't talked without Chloe in the room, she's gonna think I'm crazy."

"You could just text her." Jessica shrugged.

"But that's not as romantic!" Ashley shook her head. "She needs to go there and tell her she likes her and kiss her."

"I can't just do that!" Stacie protested.

"You could," Jessica said seriously.

"You're Stacie Conrad, you totally could." Ashley agreed.

"What if she doesn't feel the same way?" Stacie pouted.

"Why don't we go get ice cream and figure out what the plan is?" Ashley suggested.

"Yes! Ice cream is a great idea." Jessica tugged at Stacie's sleeve and smiled down at her.

Stacie rolled her eyes but smiled. "Fine."

They were almost at the door when someone rang the doorbell. Stacie looked at Jessica and Ashley and shrugged confused, taking the last steps towards the door and opening it, freezing when she saw Aubrey on the other side.

"Hey." Aubrey smiled shyly, chuckling when Stacie didn't move. "Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah, sure." Stacie stepped to the side. "Sorry."

Stacie followed Aubrey to the living room, throwing Jessica and Ashley, who were still standing on the stairs, a confused look.

Aubrey sat down on the couch and looked up, noticing Stacie was carrying her purse. "Were you going out?"

"No." She smiled at Aubrey's arched eyebrow. "It's not important."

"I can wait with Chloe if you were doing something."

She dropped her purse and sat on the coffee table in front of Aubrey. "Aubrey, it's fine. I don't have to be anywhere else." Stacie realized Aubrey was really nervous so she took her hand. "What's up?"

"I told Chloe to kick you out of the room because I wasn't calling today, I was already on my way here." Stacie arched an eyebrow. "I didn't want you to know I was coming in case I chickened out."

"Okay…"

Aubrey turned her hand in Stacie's and used her other hand to pull it closer. "Stacie."

"Aubrey."

Aubrey smiled and fiddled with Stacie's hand. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"On a date?" Stacie's surprised look turned into a huge smile when Aubrey nodded. "I'd love to."

"Yes!" Ashley exclaimed from behind the door and Jessica shushed her loudly.

Stacie chuckled and shook her head. "We were going out for ice cream, do you want to come?"

"Sure." Stacie stood up and pulled Aubrey up with her.

"Can we invite Chloe too since I missed our call today?"

"Of course." Stacie smiled and let go of her hand. "I'll go get her."

Aubrey grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Send Jessica and Ashley."

"Why?" Stacie smirked.

Aubrey placed her free hand on her shoulder, standing on her toes, her lips almost touching Stacie's. "Because I want you to stay."


	41. Seven Minutes

Aubrey would've felt bad about being a bad friend and not listening to Chloe talk about Beca, but they'd been over the situation a million times. Yes, Beca had finally accepted that she liked her, and yes, their date had been awesome, but she still hadn't come up with an alternate theory about why the hobbit hadn't tried to kiss Chloe other than she was very awkward. Besides, there were other more interesting things at the party, like Stacie licking her lips before taking a sip from her beer.

"I mean, is there something wrong with me? Am I hideous?" Chloe sighed and leaned against the wall.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to go find the stupid midget and beat her up for making Chloe feel this insecure. "There's nothing wrong with you, Chlo, she's just a spaz. Maybe you should make the first move."

"But what if she changed her mind? What if she realized during our date that she just wants to be friends and I ruin everything?"

Stacie bit her lip on the other side of the room, scrambling Aubrey's neurons and stopping her from really thinking through the next words that came out of her mouth. "You didn't ruin anything. Just pull her into a closet or something and make out with her."

Chloe gasped. "You're a genius!"

Chloe pulled her to the center of the room, grabbing an empty bottle of vodka from one of the tables, which should've been Aubrey's first sign that whatever was about to happen was bad, and started calling everyone's attention. "Guys! We should play seven minutes in heaven!"

"What?" Aubrey shrieked next to Chloe. That was so not what she had meant with her closet comment. Luckily the party had already started dying down and there were only a few people left. Unluckily, two of the people still there were Uni and Bumper, who seemed more than a little enthused about the idea.

Chloe plopped down in front of where Beca was sitting, setting the bottle on the coffee table between them and pulling Aubrey down next to her. "Chloe, we're not in highschool anymore."

"It'll be fun!" Chloe looked at her pleadingly and Aubrey sighed, knowing she shared some of the blame for what was going on.

"Right." Aubrey looked around at the people who had gathered there, her heart skipping when she saw Stacie sitting right next to Beca, and then cringing a little when her eyes landed on Bumper. "Okay, but we each get one veto."

Everyone nodded and Aubrey silently prayed that she wouldn't need her veto more than once. She refused to be anywhere close to Bumper for any length of time, anyone else she could deal with.

"I'll go first." Chloe grabbed the bottle and spun it, biting her lip as she watched it spin, frowning when it landed on Ashley. She shrugged after a second, taking Ashley's hand and leading her to the coat closet by the front door. "Maybe I'll finally hear you speak!"

"Seven minutes!" Benji started a countdown on his phone and the rest of the group sat there awkwardly.

This was one of the reasons Aubrey hated this stupid game, you had to wait out the seven minutes until the next person's turn. Aubrey leaned back onto her hands, watching Beca as she stared at the closet with a frown, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. She glanced at Benji's phone on the table every few seconds, her leg bouncing impatiently. Aubrey smiled. At least now she knew Beca wasn't okay with Chloe spending time in a closet with anyone else, even if it was one of their friends and nothing was going to happen between them.

"Time!" Beca yelled at the same time as Benji's alarm went off, almost as if she'd been counting down the whole time. "It's over, come out!"

Aubrey chuckled. "Chill, hobbit."

Chloe opened the door almost immediately, giggling with Ashley as they made their way back to the table. Beca gave Ashley a death glare, but relaxed when there were no visible signs of them having even touched.

Next it was Benji's turn, whose spin landed on Uni, who quickly used his veto. Then Jesse spun the bottle and it landed on Beca, eliciting cat calls from all around the table. Aubrey took Chloe's hand, knowing how much she was hating this, as Jesse smiled cockily and stood up.

"Veto!" Beca called, throwing a glance at Chloe who smiled at her thankfully, and Aubrey had to accept she may not be as inept as she thought.

Jesse sat back down, clearly disappointed, elbowing Bumper when he started teasing him about it, and taking a long drag from his beer. The mood soured a bit, but Beca reached forward to take her turn, groaning when the bottle landed on Bumper and he stood up triumphantly, knowing she couldn't use her veto again.

He held out his hand and smiled greasily. "Let's go, Mitchell, pay up."

"Ugh." Beca stood up reluctantly, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "If you touch me, I'll kill you."

Aubrey chuckled, knowing that if there was anything to be concerned about here was Bumper's physical integrity, but she didn't mind watching him get beat up. She didn't have to wait long for it, less than a minute into their seven minute period, Bumper fell backwards out of the closet, a fuming Beca glaring down at him. "I told you not to touch me!"

"It was an accident!" Bumper whimpered, crawling back to the table with a frown.

"Whatever," Beca stomped back. "Who's next?"

"I am, I just got kicked!" Bumper reached forward and spun the bottle while everyone watched in silence as it slowed down and pointed straight at Aubrey.

Before she could open her mouth to veto, Bumper was out of his seat. "Veto! Veto! No way I'm going in with you, Posen."

Aubrey scoffed, "Please, like I wouldn't have used mine anyway. You're gross."

"Says the girl who puked all over hundreds of people."

"I didn't-" Aubrey shook her head, knowing arguing with Bumper would lead her nowhere. "You're right, I would have definitely puked on you," Aubrey said, taking the bottle and spinning it just to shut him up.

She was still glaring at Bumper when Uni started cheering, making Aubrey turn to look at the bottle , widening her eyes when she saw it was pointing at Stacie. Stacie gave her a small smile that really shouldn't had made her stomach flip the way it did and stood up, making her way to the closet. It took Chloe nudging her to finally make her stand up and follow her.

She stepped into the closet, looking at Chloe as she closed the door behind them. "Seven minutes!"

Aubrey kept facing the closed door until she felt Stacie's hand force her hand open, squeezing her fingers gently. "Are you okay? You're not claustrophobic, are you?"

"What?" Aubrey finally turned to face Stacie but she cold barely make out her outline in the dark. "No, I'm fine." She smiled, even though she knew Stacie couldn't see her and squeezed her hand back.

"You're breathing faster." Stacie tugged her closer and ran her hand up and down Aubrey's forearm.

Aubrey didn't reply but made a conscious effort to slow down her breaths. She had known this was a possibility, but she hadn't thought about what she would do if it actually happened. She wasn't about to jump the poor girl, that was extremely inappropriate and she really did like Stacie, it wasn't just about making out with her; she was sweet and funny and smart. But, of course, sweet and funny and smart Stacie had a million people seeking her attention, and while she'd always been nicer to her than the rest of the new Bellas, she'd never given her an indication that she was even remotely interested. It even seemed like Aubrey was the one person Stacie interacted with without flirting.

Aubrey hadn't thought a lot of it at first, it wasn't like Stacie was constantly on flirt mode, but she'd heard her say something flirty or suggestive to every one of the girls at least once. And Aubrey knew she didn't mean anything by it, she wasn't actually hitting on them, but it was who she was. Except with Aubrey, it seemed.

"I've never gotten the point of this game," Stacie said, her hand still holding Aubrey's. "I mean, if you need a bottle to force someone into a closet to make out with them, maybe you shouldn't be trying to make out with them in the first place."

Aubrey chuckled. "Right."

"Unless you're going out with Beca, who can't make a move to save her life." Stacie snorted. "But Chloe should've just kissed her and kept us out of it."

"Chloe doesn't really like going with the logical, easy solution," Aubrey said.

"I've noticed." Stacie paused and started moving her thumb in circles over the back of Aubrey's hand, speaking again after a while. "I guess sometimes the logical solution isn't as easy."

"How so?"

Stacie took a tiny step forward and Aubrey could feel her warmth against her front. "Sometimes the logical solution is to just tell the person you like that you do, but that's only easy if the person you like isn't completely out of your league." Aubrey frowned, she really didn't want to hear about some person Stacie liked. "And every time you try, the words get stuck in the back of your throat because you know there's no way someone this great would even think of you, but it's fine because just being around them in any way makes you happy, and seeing them smile takes your breath away every time."

Aubrey swallowed the knot in her throat, knowing that if Stacie felt this way about someone she was doomed. She took Stacie's other hand and took a small step back. "Whoever this person is, Stace, they'd be really lucky to have you. You're amazing."

"You really think so?" Stacie tilted her head and Aubrey's heart broke a little more at the disbelieving tone in Stacie's voice. Even if she was hurting about Stacie liking someone else, she didn't want Stacie to feel like she wasn't enough for anyone.

"Of course I do. You're one of the smartest people I know, and you're kind, you care about your friends and the world, not to mention the fact that you make the best chocolate banana milkshakes I've ever had." Stacie laughed and Aubrey felt a little better knowing she'd accomplished that. "No one's out of your league. You're the best of all the leagues combined. You should tell them."

"What if I lose them because of it?"

"Then they weren't worth your time and effort," Aubrey said resolutely.

Stacie's grip on Aubrey's hands firmed up and she took a deep breath, staying in silence for a few seconds. Just when Aubrey though she wasn't going to say anything else, Aubrey heard her take another breath and speak. "I like you."

"Yes, just like that." Aubrey nodded. "They'd be idiots to not like you back."

"No," Stacie said quickly, pulling Aubrey's hands and making her take a step closer again. "I like  _you_ , Aubrey."

Aubrey froze. She really wasn't expecting that. Why would Stacie think she was out of her league. Why would Stacie like her as much as she said she liked this person? None of it made sense.

"But-"

"Time!" Chloe yelled and Aubrey heard her approaching the closet.

"One minute!" Aubrey called out and then focused back on Stacie. "What do you mean you like me?"

"I mean-"

" You can't have another minute." Bumper protested from outside. "It's against the rules."

Aubrey heard someone say something back and an argument erupted. Aubrey didn't really care about what was happening, she just wanted to understand what Stacie had said, because it made no sense.

"You're the person I was talking about," Stacie said, finally and sighed. "It's totally cool if you don't feel the same way, I-"

The door opened and Aubrey let go of Stacie's hands to turn and squint up at Bumper. "You're done, Posen, stop hogging the closet."

"Oh my god." Aubrey took Stacie's hand and dragged her back to the coffee table, taking the bottle and pointing it at her. "I got Stacie again, yay." Aubrey said with mock enthusiasm and pulled Stacie back into the closet. "Start counting!"

"What are you-" Before Stacie could finish her question, Aubrey pressed their lips together softly, pulling back after a series of kisses.

"We're doing this game right this time."


	42. There's a World

Aubrey hadn't expected to find Chloe when she got back home from the library, she'd taken longer than she had to on purpose, but there she was, standing by the door already in her pirate costume waiting for her.

"Great, you're here!" She pounced as soon as Aubrey had opened the door and dragged her to her room, where she'd already laid out Aubrey's old Madonna costume from freshman year.

"No," Aubrey said as soon as she saw it. She shook her head vehemently. "You know I hate Halloween."

She did. Aubrey had told her countless times when she'd tried to drag her to one of her parties in the past two years. And it wasn't that she actually hated Halloween, but it had never really been her thing. When she was a kid, her parents would always go away to a party or an event, leaving her to trick-or-treat with her nanny, who of course didn't really care enough about it so she'd end up wearing a generic, store bought costume. When she got to highschool she was never popular enough to get invited to the cool kids' parties, and since she was too old to trick-or-treat, she'd stay home watching scary movies on TV.

College hadn't really changed her mind about Halloween. She'd gone to a party her freshman year, even invested on a proper costume, but she soon realized it was just like any other college party, except people seemed to use the excuse that they were in a costume to act more like immature pricks than usual. After that failed attempt, she'd skipped all Halloween related events, and Chloe had never pushed… until now.

"I thought you were going to that party with Tom," Aubrey added with a glare.

"I was. I am!" Chloe sighed. "He said he might be there but I don't wanna show up by myself like I'm just there to see him."

"But you will be just there to see him," Aubrey deadpanned.

"But I don't want him to know that!" Chloe pouted and turned her big, blue eyes towards Aubrey. "Please, Bree."

Aubrey took a deep breath, knowing she was fighting a losing battle and nodded, causing Chloe to grin and skip towards the bed to hand her a pair of black leggings. "I'll help you with your hair after you change."

* * *

"Where exactly is this party?" Aubrey asked as she boarded the Uber Chloe had called.

"It's called the Hawthorne Hotel," Chloe said.

"And it's haunted?" Aubrey asked, arching an eyebrow.

Chloe nodded. "That's what Tom said. Apparently there have been several mysterious deaths there. Most of them on Halloween."

"Huh." Aubrey looked out the window. Even though they hadn't been in the car for too long, she didn't really recognize the area. And though it was true that they rarely ever left campus except for when they had to perform, and she was never the one who drove the Bella bus, she thought she knew the area around campus pretty well. She took out her phone and opened her maps app, frowning when she realized they really weren't that far from the Bella house and wondered how she'd never been in this part of town. She tried to look for some landmark she'd recognize but nothing looked familiar.

When the car stopped, Chloe pulled her out of the car behind her, stopping to smooth her short skirt while Aubrey looked up at the hotel. She hadn't been able to look at the building properly from inside the car, and seeing it now caused a weird feeling creep up her spine. It was both fear and anticipation, for what she wasn't sure, but she considered for a second getting right back into the car and going home.

The building didn't look very old or particularly creepy on its own, but there were no lights on visible through the windows, the only light came from the sign with the hotel's name at the top. Adding to the spooky atmosphere, the whole street was unnaturally quiet. After the car drove off and turned the corner, everything remained eerily still.

"Are you sure it's here?" Aubrey asked, her voice shaking a little bit making her clear her throat.

"Yes," Chloe replied, taking her hand again and walking her to the entrance. "Tom texted me that he's here already."

"Great." A hint of sarcasm could be heard on Aubrey's answer but she dutifully followed Chloe inside.

The door creaked loudly as Chloe pushed it open, and Aubrey could see candles flickering on top of the front desk right in front of them. She turned to look at the windows,rolling her eyes when she noticed there were blackout curtains over all of them, probably to make the building look creepier.

"Welcome!" Aubrey jumped at the unexpected voice and quickly turned around to find a guy about their age dressed in an old, dusty bellboy suit. His face was dusted with white makeup to make his skin look paler and a trail of fake blood dripping from the side of his mouth. "Are you here for the party?"

Aubrey looked down at her costume and back up at him. "No, we're checking in."

He tilted his head confused and Chloe stepped forward after rolling her eyes at Aubrey. "Yes, party."

"Great!" He smiled again and walked around to where they were and handed them a small coupon. "First drink's free, the party's on the top floor." He ushered them to the elevator through a corridor lined with pictures. "Do you wanna hear the history of the hotel before you go up?"

Aubrey opened her mouth to answer but Chloe cut her off. "Maybe later. Come on, Bree."

Aubrey frowned but walked the rest of the way to the elevator, walking in as soon as the doors opened and pressed the topmost button.

"I thought hotels don't have a thirteenth floor," Chloe said.

"This one's haunted, maybe having a thirteenth floor is part of it." Aubrey shrugged.

Chloe turned from looking at her reflection on the back of the elevator and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "How do I look?"

Aubrey reached up and tilted Chloe's pirate hat slightly to the side. "Like a very hot, naughty pirate."

Chloe winked and flicked Aubrey's bead necklaces. "You look hot too."

"Thanks." Aubrey chuckled and turned back to face the opening elevator doors.

They walked out into a large room. All the windows were covered with curtains here too, but there were low lights hanging from the ceiling, and a couple of speakers in the corner playing music loud enough for the people by them to dance, but not loud enough to be heard from their side of the room.

Despite the seemingly low production budget, the place was packed with people wearing a vast array of costumes. The appeal of partying in a supposedly haunted hotel must have been higher than what Aubrey thought. Or half of the people there had been dragged there by their overenthusiastic best friend too.

"Let's get our free drink." Chloe took Aubrey's hand so they wouldn't get separated and pushed through the crowd to where the bar was. They handed their coupon to a guy dressed just as the one in the lobby, who informed them they were out of vodka. Chloe gave Aubrey an apologetic smile and turned to the bartender. "Two beers."

Aubrey grabbed her cup begrudgingly and was about to suggest they move to the other side of the room when someone wrapped their arms around her and Chloe's shoulders.

"You came!" Tom said louder than necessarily. "And you brought Aubrey." The last part was clearly not good news for him. Aubrey had never liked him and she'd never tried to hide it. "Wanna dance, babe?"

Aubrey ducked under Tom's arm and took a step back, silencing Chloe's protest with a look. "Go, I'll be fine."

The last thing she wanted was to actually hang out with Tom. She could go somewhere and entertain herself with her phone for long enough that Chloe didn't feel like she'd dragged her out for nothing, pretend she had a great time, and leave.

She watched Chloe walk away with Tom and turned around, walking around the bar and finding a set of glass doors. She looked around. No one was there, which made it the perfect spot to hang out. She tried the first door and it whined open, a cold breeze filtering inside.

The door opened to a large balcony, the hotel sign she'd seen from the street shining right on top of her. The night was crisp but bearable even with the sleeveless top from her costume. She walked to the edge, her hand reaching out to hold onto the iron railing there as she leaned forward to look down.

"I wouldn't lean on that." Aubrey yelped and whipped around, her beer jumping out of her cup. She stared at the girl by the door for a few seconds with her mouth open in shock. She was hot, more than hot. Her brown hair was teased around a wide yellow headband, the same color of her shirt, which was tucked into a high waisted black skirt that ended just above a pair of black go go boots.

"It's not very stable," the girl continued. "I don't think you're supposed to be here."

Aubrey snapped out of checking her out and arched an eyebrow. "Are you supposed to be here?"

The girl shrugged. "Not really, just came out for some air." She stepped closer to Aubrey. "Stacie." She held out her hand and smiled disarmingly, tilting her head when Aubrey didn't respond. "That's my name… Now you say yours, we shake hands, and we're friends."

Aubrey smiled amused. Stacie's confidence was kind of endearing. "Just like that?"

She nodded, shaking Aubrey's hand and letting go with a wink. "Unless you wanna be something other than friends, which is fine too."

Aubrey chuckled and crossed her arms. "What makes you think I'd be interested in being something else?"

"You just totally checked me out." Stacie said teasingly.

Aubrey opened her mouth, grasping for an excuse. She wasn't actually checking her out, although her eyes did linger on a few spots. "I was just looking at your costume."

"Right." Stacie said, shaking her head and smiling widely. "You still haven't told me your name."

"Aubrey." She looked down at Stacie's clothes again. "Are you supposed to be dressed as someone or are you just a generic 70's girl?"

"Generic is a bit harsh, don't you think?" Stacie frowned. "Let's just say I'm... a ghost."

"A ghost?" Aubrey arched an eyebrow. Her costume looked nothing like what a ghost was supposed to look like.

"Yup." Stacie smirked and Aubrey hated how much she was attracted to her right then. "What are you supposed to be?"

"You're kidding, right?" Aubrey looked down at herself. Maybe it wasn't the best Madonna costume ever but she thought it was pretty clear. "I'm Madonna."

Stacie's brow furrowed slightly. "Who?"

"Madonna?" Aubrey didn't quite understand if she was being purposefully obtuse. "You know, Madonna. Like a Virgin, Vogue? How do you not know who Madonna is?"

"Of course I know Madonna, I'm not a chump." Stacie chuckled nervously and leaned on the wall between the glass doors. "So, are you here alone?"

The question seemed kind of abrupt to Aubrey, but she let it go for the moment, even though she really didn't understand how someone could not know Madonna. "Not really, I'm here with a friend." Aubrey rolled her eyes just from thinking about Tom. "She's with some guy."

"Oh…" Stacie smiled. "Well I can keep you company if you want."

"You can?" Aubrey asked teasingly and Stacie just nodded. "I guess that wouldn't be horrible."

Stacie smiled widely. "Far out!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes, deciding not to point out how dorky it was that she was taking her 70's personna so seriously. It was a tiny bit adorable. "Are you here alone?"

"I've got a few friends here." She motioned vaguely at the party inside. "We've come every year."

"I didn't even know this place existed until today."

"It's fun," Stacie said with a shrug. "And I love Halloween."

"See, I don't get that." Aubrey took a step closer to Stacie. "What is it about Halloween that people love so much?"

"Candy?" Stacie chuckled when Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I guess it's because on Halloween you can do things you wouldn't do other times. It's like a free night."

"But it's not, actually. Everything you do has consequences, even on Halloween."

"I'm not saying you should go and kill someone." Stacie reached out and took Aubrey's hand. "But there's something kinda liberating about dressing up and pretending you're someone else for a night." Stacie tugged Aubrey closer and for some reason Aubrey didn't stop her. "What would happen if I kissed you right now?"

"I…" Aubrey tried to think of a reason not to kiss Stacie but failed. "I don't know you."

"I'm anyone, that's the beauty of Halloween."

Stacie arched an expectant eyebrow and Aubrey's hands moved to her shoulders, her head tilting up minutely. Stacie leaned closer, stopping again just before her lips reached Aubrey's, forcing her to close the remaining distance herself.

Aubrey felt Stacie's hands on her back, pressing her closer, her lips molding to her own almost perfectly. She was trying hard not to overthink this and just let herself feel, but she couldn't turn off her brain. She'd never done this, kiss a complete stranger at a party, at least not sober. And even then, it had only been a handful of times and always with people she sort of knew from school. This was different, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and Stacie was hotter than anyone she'd ever kissed before.

She pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind, realizing that it was too late for second thoughts now, and deepened the kiss, pressing Stacie against the wall and smiling when she let out a whimper. She broke the kiss for a second, looking at Stacie's eyes and down at her now swollen lips before capturing them again, her hands moving up to frame her cheeks. Stacie's teeth pulled on her lower lip, her tongue soothing the bite immediately after and Aubrey moaned into her mouth.

Aubrey felt something moving on the back of her pants, breaking the kiss with a frown when she realized Stacie's hands were still planted on her back.

"Your butt is shaking," Stacie said with an amused lilt.

Aubrey took her phone out from her back pocket and turned around, picking up when she saw it was Chloe. "What's up, Chlo?"

"Where are you?" Chloe sounded like she was crying. "Tom is a jerk, I wanna go home."

"I'll be right there, okay?" Aubrey threw an apologetic look at Stacie over her shoulder. "Meet me downstairs in the lobby."

"Okay."

Aubrey hung up and smiled sheepishly. "I have to go."

Stacie pushed off the wall and shrugged. "It was nice to meet you, Aubrey."

"You too." Aubrey hesitated, thinking if she should ask Stacie for her number but not really wanting to spoil the moment. "Bye."

She hurried to the elevator, calling an Uber while she went down, and found Chloe crying on the shoulder of the guy in the bellboy costume. "What happened?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Chloe said between sniffles.

"Okay…" Aubrey pulled Chloe away from the guy. "We should go."

Chloe nodded and they started to walk away when the guy spoke. "But I didn't show you the pictures of all the people who have died here!"

Aubrey turned back to glare at him but one of the pictures caught her eye. It was a newspaper clipping showing a photo of a group of people standing in the lobby, it was a bit grainy but Aubrey thought she recognized the outfit of one of the girls… and her smile. She looked down, her head spinning when she read the caption under the picture.

_**Barden University Class of 1973  
Bumper Allen, Beca Mitchell, Jesse Swanson, Stacie Conrad, Benjamin Applebaum** _


	43. George

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stole George from [backinthebox](http://archiveofourown.org/users/backinthebox/pseuds/backinthebox).

Stacie loved dogs. She loved all animals, really. But she wasn't a pet person.

It wasn't that she didn't like spending time with animals, but having a pet was a huge responsibility, especially a dog. You had to be there and take care of them and, after you got irrevocably attached, they died. So she'd never actually had a dog of her own and she'd never really felt like she was missing out on anything. She had friends with pets and so when she visited them she'd get her dose of fluffy cuteness without any of the responsibilities.

One of her friends joked that not wanting to have a pet was part of her fear of commitment, which they argued was the reason she'd never had any serious relationship, to which she always responded that having taken one psychology class in college didn't make her an actual psychologist.

Still, she didn't really try to overanalyze the fact that the only person she'd been able to have a serious relationship with in years also had a dog. And it was going great, she was practically living with her now, except…

"I don't think George likes me that much," Stacie said, looking at the dog by Aubrey's feet.

"What do you mean? He likes you." She leaned down and scratched behind his ears. "You like Stace, don't you boy?" The dog lifted his head from his paws for a second and then went back to sleep. "See, he likes you."

Stacie rolled her eyes and scooted closer to Aubrey's side of the couch, laying her head on her shoulder. "I don't think that meant anything."

Aubrey chuckled and took Stacie's hand, lacing their fingers. "Why don't you think he likes you?"

"Well," Stacie cleared her throat, feeling a bit self conscious about being worried if the dog liked her or not. "He never even looks at me when I arrive."

"That's because most of the time you arrive with me! He's obviously gonna be more excited to see me," Aubrey countered.

"He's never even come close to me if you're not there," Stacie said, sitting up and moving to straddle Aubrey, the dog letting out a low, short growl. "And he always growls when I get on top of you."

"He thinks you're trying to dominate me." Aubrey smiled and pulled Stacie closer.

Stacie brushed their lips together briefly. "I am trying to dominate you."

The dog growled louder, startling Stacie as she was leaning forward again. Aubrey chuckled and pushed Stacie onto her back, laying on top of her and kissing her deeply. Stacie's arms moved to Aubrey's back, holding her close and tangling their legs together.

Aubrey broke the kiss after a while, pecking Stacie's lips lazily before talking again. "Maybe you just need to spend more time together."

"Huh?" Stacie had been too focused on making out with Aubrey and had forgotten about what they were talking about before.

"You and George." Aubrey turned her head to kiss Stacie's neck.

Stacie moaned, completely failing to follow the thread of the conversation. "Me and George, what?"

Aubrey lifted her head, raising an eyebrow at Stacie. "You and George should spend more time together."

"We already spend tons of time together and he doesn't seem to be warming up to me." Stacie shrugged. "I guess he'll get used to me eventually."

Aubrey pursed her lips and fiddled with Stacie's hair while she considered an idea. She looked at Stacie, she could see that she genuinely cared about George feeling comfortable around her. "What if next week when I go to my seminar, instead of taking George to my mom's, you take care of him here?"

Stacie's eyes widened. "You want me to stay here?" Aubrey nodded. "With George?" Aubrey smiled and nodded again. "By ourselves?"

Aubrey laughed, pecking Stacie quickly. "You don't have to, but maybe it'll give you guys a chance to bond."

"What if something happens to him?" Stacie asked, the tone of her voice rising comically.

Aubrey tried to keep a serious face. "Just don't let him eat anything he's not supposed to and he'll be fine." Stacie eyed her skeptically. "I'll leave the contact info for the vet. And if you need anything you can call my mom." Stacie frowned. "Or Chloe. She's watched George too."

Stacie sighed. "It's just three days?" Aubrey nodded, trying to smile reassuringly. "Okay."

Aubrey's smile widened. "It's gonna be great!"

* * *

"Bye, George." Aubrey crouched down to hug the dog and whisper, "be nice to Stacie."

She stood up and turned, smiling at Stacie's nervous look. "You'll be fine." She placed her hands on Stacie's hips and tugged her closer, kissing her softly. "The vet's number's on the fridge, and Chloe knows you're here with George so you can call her if you need anything."

Stacie's face relaxed a little and she slid her arms around Aubrey. "We're good. Have fun at your team building seminar."

Aubrey scrunched up her nose. "I doubt that's gonna be fun." She kissed Stacie again, this time deeper, reaching behind her to open the door without breaking the kiss. She pulled back when she finally found the doorknob. "I love you."

"I love you." Stacie smiled. She held the door open for Aubrey and watched her get to the end of the hallway before closing the door and turning to face the dog. "It's just you and me, dude."

The dog tilted his head, regarding Stacie for a few seconds before turning and walking away. "Yup, we're getting along so much better."

Stacie walked to the living room and sat down on the couch with a sigh. There was no sign of the dog so Stacie figured he'd probably gone to Aubrey's room.

Stacie turned on the TV, figuring she could catch up on some Netflix show before it was time to walk George again. They'd taken him out before Aubrey left. She'd accompanied Aubrey a few times before, but they would usually chat so she'd never really paid attention to where they walked to. This time Aubrey had told Stacie about George's favorite spots.

A few hours later, George walked out of Aubrey's room and stretched out in front of Stacie, staring at the front door, probably waiting for Aubrey to come back. Stacie pursed her lips and sat up.

"Do you wanna go out?" George looked at her briefly and then turned back to the door. "Bree's not coming back until Monday, bud."

The dog seemingly ignored her and kept staring at the door so Stacie walked around him and grabbed his leash. "Come on, George, let's go out."

He looked at Stacie holding the leash for a few seconds before deciding to get up and walk towards her, sitting down in front of her like he did with Aubrey. Stacie smiled, hooking of the leash to his collar and ruffling the hair on the top of his head. "Cool! Let's go."

The walk to the park was pretty uneventful, George didn't seem to mind being walked by someone else, he was used to the dog walker during the week. He stopped to sniff and pee at different spots on the way, mostly walking right beside Stacie. When they arrived, Stacie took him to the dog area and took the leash off, letting him run away to play with the other dogs while she sat down on a bench.

She took her phone out and dialed Chloe's phone, keeping an eye on the dog on the other side. Chloe's cheery voice came through almost immediately. "How's George?"

"He's fine, we're at the park." Stacie paused to check on the dog, he was running after a corgi holding a tennis ball. "I think he's not really annoyed about being stuck with me but he's not thrilled either."

"You're crazy, he's the sweetest dog," Chloe said.

"He's not the sweetest with me!" Stacie complained.

Chloe chuckled. "Well, you are banging his mom. How would you feel?"

"Fair point." Stacie conceded. "About that… I wanted to ask you something."

"I don't think Aubrey would approve us discussing your sex life.

"Not that." The corgi dropped the ball at Stacie's feet and she scooped it up and threw it, making sure it landed closer to George. "I wanted to ask Aubrey to move in with me, which is why I was worried about George. Do you think she'll say yes? I mean, I know we haven't really been dating that long, but we're practically living together already and it's kinda-"

"Oh my god, stop. She's totes gonna be happy. She's crazy about you."

Stacie bit her lip and smiled. She'd been worried Aubrey would think it was too soon for them to talk about living together, but her lease was up next month and she thought it was dumb to renew it when she spent most of her time at Aubrey's already.

"You're so cute," Chloe continued. "You were worried she'd say no because of George?"

"No." Stacie replied way too fast. "A little. It's not like I'm his favorite person. I'm hoping this weekend will move me up the list." Stacie threw the ball again when George brought it back, making her smile when he ran after it. "You can't say anything to Aubrey about this."

"I won't, don't worry," Chloe assured her. "As long as you don't chicken out."

"That really depends on George," Stacie said.

"You'll be fine, go play with him for a bit," Chloe said before hanging up.

Stacie did as she was told and George looked a lot happier by the time they got back to Aubrey's apartment. She would've been happier about it if he hadn't run straight to the bedroom looking for Aubrey, coming out disappointedly when he failed to find her.

He spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the apartment as if he didn't know where he was supposed to stay with only Stacie there. Stacie had called him to the couch with her but he'd ignored her. Later that evening, he reluctantly let Stacie walk him around the block, but he lay down on his bed in the living room as soon as they got back.

The next day wasn't better. Stacie woke up to find one of her shoes chewed up in the living room, probably in protest for having been abandoned with her. She didn't know what to do about it, she didn't feel like she had the right or authority to scold him so she just threw out the shoe on her way to the kitchen.

She decided to go for a run and take George, like Aubrey did, figuring he'd be more amicable if he was tired. He started out running beside her, but Aubrey must have been used to running a lot faster than her because he soon started dragging her around the park.

By the time they got back, George looked like he wasn't that tired, but Stacie felt like she was gonna die. She stumbled into the bedroom and flopped down on the bed, breathing heavily. Her phone chimed a few minutes later and she picked up without looking.

"Hey, baby, how's it going?"

Stacie smiled at the sound of Aubrey's voice and rolled over. "I miss you, come back."

"I've been gone a day." Aubrey laughed. "Why do you sound out of breath?"

"I went running with George. Apparently he's used to a faster pace than I am."

"Aww," Aubrey cooed. "Are you gonna survive or should I ask Chloe to pick up the dog?"

"Mean." Stacie pouted. "You'll be back before I get home from work, right?"

"Probably not, I'm not gonna start driving back until after lunch."

Stacie sighed. "Fine, we'll be here, missing you."

"I love you." Stacie heard something on the other side of the line. "I gotta go, give George a kiss from me."

"Who's giving me a kiss from you?"

Aubre chuckled. "Tell him to do it. Bye."

"Bye, love you." Stacie arched an eyebrow at George when she hung up. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

* * *

 Stacie opened the door to the apartment and turned on the light, smiling when George came to the door wagging his tail. "Hey, bud."

He bumped her leg with his head and she pat his head, scratching behind his ears before continuing to the bedroom to change her shoes. Aubrey had hired a dog walker to take George out on weekdays, but that had probably been hours ago so she decided to take him out.

They walked around for a while until George led her back to the apartment on his own. She was excited about seeing Aubrey but she was exhausted. She sat down on the couch, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a second before she felt something cold against her hand. She opened her eyes and found George lying next to her, his cold nose nudging her.

She turned her hand and scratched his chin, her smile widening as the dog moved to rest his head on her lap. "I guess it was a good weekend after all, huh?" She watched him settle and put her hand back on him. "How'd you like it if I moved in with you guys?"

"Sounds like a great idea."

Stacie looked up to find Aubrey standing in the doorway. George jumped off her and ran to her, his tail wagging frantically as she leaned down to pet him. Stacie waited on the couch for her to finish greeting him, reaching out to pull her close when she approached her.

Aubrey straddled Stacie's lap and kissed her deeply, her fingers settling on the back of her neck. "Hey."

"Hi," Stacie replied and tilted her chin up to kiss Aubrey again but she pulled back.

"Did you mean that? The moving in thing?" Aubrey asked, her voice shaky and unsure.

Stacie tucked a strand of hair behind Aubrey's ear and nodded. "If you want me."

Aubrey smiled, pecking her lips quickly. "Of course I want you."

George barked behind them and Aubrey turned to look at him, patting the couch for him to jump on. He nudged Aubrey's side, making her turn and sit next to Stacie. He stopped to lick Stacie's face before he lay down across both their laps. "I think George's fine with it too."


	44. The L or the R or the One That's Green

The average time between subway stops was seven minutes, times five stops times five days meant I had 175 minutes to pull this off, which should've be enough. In theory.

I heard the train start approaching and I stepped up closer to the edge of the platform, my heart speeding up as the train slowed down. When the doors opened, I saw her standing right in front of me, leaning on the doors on the opposite side.

I took a deep breath and walked into the subway car, standing a few feet away from her. I tried to catch her eye but her blonde hair cascaded down the side of her face, blocking me from view. She was holding onto the handrail with one hand while the other one held the book she was reading, the same one she'd been reading last week, her black briefcase hanging from her shoulder.

The expensive briefcase, coupled with the serious looking outfit, had always made me think that she was some sort of executive at a Fortune 500 company, who took the subway because she cared about the environment. Not that I had actually given it much thought.

As far as strangers on the subway went, she was one of the best looking ones. And that's what she would've been forever, a stranger, except I ran into Alice that weekend.

Alice had been my roommate all through college. I wouldn't call her a friend, but we had always been competitive, so when she asked me if I was finally in a serious relationship, with a face that implied she still thought of me as a slut, I said yes, and when she asked more about it, the first person that popped into my head had been the cute blonde from the subway. And of course I couldn't come up with an excuse when she asked us for dinner at her place a week later, so now I either had to swallow my pride and go on my own, owning up to my lie, or try to talk this hot stranger into having dinner with me and my college roommate, and pretend we'd been dating for a while.

The subway stopped, a few people exiting but quickly being replaced by a new group.

Seven minutes down.

I wasn't a totally creeper. At least I didn't think I was… I had first noticed subway hottie, as I called her, a few months ago. I had just started my current job and had finally settled on a time I could take the subway without being too early but with a good enough margin if there was a delay. Just as the doors opened that day, much like today, I spotted her immediately. She stood out like a sore thumb in the old subway car, looking all pristine and put together and way hotter than should be legal that early in the morning. Her blonde hair was pulled back tightly, her back perfectly straight. She was sitting right next to the opposite door, reading her book and completely ignoring everyone else. I took a seat off to the side, giving her one more once over, before taking out my own book. By the time I looked up to get off the train, she was gone.

I saw her almost every day. She always looked absolutely perfect, most days she stood by the door reading a book that changed every few weeks. I'd never tried to talk to her, I had no delusions about getting to know her or anything, she was just a hot girl who rode the same subway as me in the morning, a stranger who made the start of my day a little better.

The train stopped again and I moved closer, standing right next to her, holding onto the same handrail as her. I only had three stops left before she got off so if I was going to say something I had to hurry. I hadn't read the book she was reading, but I'd heard about it, and I had watched Judy Garland's Wizard of Oz more than a few times.

"So, are you a good witch or a bad witch?" I said, smiling in a way I knew was cute and disarming.

She looked up, frowning slightly but a smile pulled at her lips when she saw me. "What?"

"Your book." I nodded at it. "It's about the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz, right?"

"Yes," She smiled, completely at ease now, and even though I was used to strangers being friendly, I know how hot I am, I hadn't been ready for her smile. "Have you read it?"

"No, but I've watched The Wizard of Oz like a million times."

The car stopped again and she looked away to check the station name, her eyes finding me again when people started filing in. "You should read it, it's good."

I looked at the book and smirked. "What if it has a horrible ending?"

She pursed her lips and leafed through what was left of the book. "I hope it doesn't."

I held back a sigh at how adorable she looked and tilted my head. "Maybe I can borrow it when you're done."

She arched an amused eyebrow. "Sure, I guess. If I see you again…"

"I have a feeling you will."

The train slowed down again and she looked up, smiling apologetically at me. "This is my stop."

I took a step back, letting her through. "See you around."

She turned to look at me when she got out of the car and I waved at her. She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers slowly, almost unconsciously, her brow furrowed in confusion. I smiled. Even though I didn't know her name yet, and we hadn't really had much of a conversation, it had been a good first approach. For starters, I wasn't a complete stranger now, and she hadn't seemed to think I was insane.

Still, I didn't want to push my luck, so the next day I walked to the back of the train where I knew I wouldn't run into her. My commute wasn't as pleasant as it usually was, and I knew I didn't really have much time to spare, but I figured she'd be more open to getting to know me if I didn't push it.

I was back in front of our usual car on Wednesday. Today the goal was to ascertain if subway hottie was interested in me. Our first interaction hadn't been enough to confirm this; she'd been nice, but maybe she was just nice to people in general.

To help me with my goal for the day, I had decided to wear what my friends deemed my sexy librarian look: short skirt, button up shirt, tie, and glasses. It was appropriate for work, and I was probably losing the tie after she got off the subway, but even gay dudes had given me a double take in this outfit.

She looked up just as the doors opened, her jaw dropping when she saw me standing there. I smirked and walked in, standing right in front of her and flipping my hair over my shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey." Her voice sounded raspy and she swallowed, her cheeks blushing slightly. "Are you stalking me?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Nope, we just seem to share part of our commute."

"I didn't see you yesterday." She looked at me skeptically and I smiled widely.

"You were looking for me?"

"No, I-" She blushed again and shook her head. "I'd just never seen you before Monday."

"Really?" To be honest, I was a little offended that she'd never noticed me when we'd been sharing a train for months. "That's strange, because I've been taking the subway at this time and getting on the same car for the past three months."

She seemed to think about this piece of information for a few seconds and looked at me. "So you've seen me before this week?"

"You're hard to miss."

She blushed again and I started thinking I was maybe laying it on too thick, but when the train stopped again, she took a step closer to me to let some people through. Once we started moving again, she moved back, but she didn't move as far back as she'd been before and I took it as an encouraging sign. "I'm Stacie, by the way."

I held out my hand and she looked at it for a second before taking it. "Aubrey."

Aubrey. Subway hottie now had a name. "It's really nice to officially meet you, Aubrey."

She opened her mouth and closed it again, frowning and then finally making up her mind. "It's a little weird that you've noticed me before and I haven't. Especially when you look…"

She clamped her mouth shut and I chuckled. "I look like I do?" She nodded. "Your book must really be good, I guess."

She looked at me, really looked at me, in a way that was kind of unnerving, and for the first time today I didn't feel confident about this. The subway started to slow down and I knew we were approaching her stop. Right before it completely stopped, she looked away and put her book in her briefcase. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." My heart skipped; I hadn't expected her to say that, but now I could say with some certainty that she was interested in me.

The smile on her face when she spotted me the next day was my new favorite sight. I noticed she wasn't holding her book and I hoped it was because she'd been waiting for me. "Aubrey."

"Stacie." My heart fluttered at the sound of my name falling from her lips. "How did your day go yesterday?"

"It was good," I said with a chuckle. "Yours?"

"Great," she replied offhandedly. "So what exactly do you do?"

"Nice segue…" I smiled. "I'm in nanotech research."

She paused, her brow furrowed slightly as if she was trying to decide if she believed me so I reached into my purse and took out one of my business cards, glad I'd tossed them in there when I got them. She took the card and read it, running her thumb over the embossed letters and looked up at me appropriately impressed.

"I know, I'm deceitfully hot. But I'm way smarter than I look."

She laughed. "You're humble too."

"I don't really have a lot of time to convince you to call me, gotta point out my good qualities." I was probably getting ahead of myself but I took a chance. I took the card back and scribbled my cell on the back.

"Smooth."

I thought so too. "You're the one who asked what I did."

She shrugged, conceding the point and putting my card in her coat pocket. "What other good qualities do you have?"

"Well, we already covered hot and smart," I said, counting them out with my fingers. "I'm punctual, you look like the kinda person who appreciates that." She opened her mouth to interrupt me but I kept talking. "Oh, I'm a great judge of character, which is how I knew it was a good idea to approach you."

"Why did you approach me?"

"Save something for when you call me." I winked at her. "But if you must know, I think you're cute, and you're always reading something I like or might like, and I've seen you give up your seat a few times which means you're at least half decent."

She narrowed her eyes. "So you were stalking me."

"I'm very observant." I smiled innocently. "Did I mention I think you're really cute?"

"I'm still not convinced I should call you." She twisted her lip and arched an eyebrow. "You're still a random subway person."

I gasped and faked outrage. "I'm a hot and smart random subway person." She rolled her eyes goodnaturedly and I grinned. I looked up, we had already passed the last stop before she had to get off. "I'll tell you what, call me, or text me, we'll talk. If you don't want to talk to me or see me again, I'll just take a later train from now on."

"Alright, I'll think about it." She gave me a crooked smile before turning to look at the doors as the train slowed down. "Goodbye, Stacie."

"Bye, Aubrey." I caught myself still waving pathetically as the train doors closed between us and lowered my hand.

My heart started pounding nervously as soon as I realized there was nothing else I could do now. I didn't like being this hands off when it came to a relationship, or the start of one, but given the unusualness of the way we met I figured she'd be more comfortable with the whole thing if she was the one with the power to decide if anything happened.

I tried not to think too much about it at work, trying to focus on our latest project, but my eyes kept flitting over to my phone every few minutes. My heart nearly jumped out of my throat whenever it vibrated and dropped like a stone when I realized it was someone else.

I decided to call it a day way earlier than usual, I wasn't being productive and there was no point in me staying there. The entire ride back I kept trying to calculate the probability of her actually contacting me and, by the time I got home, I'd already convinced myself she wasn't going to do it.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and was about to throw my phone on the coffee table and abandon it for the day when it vibrated. I froze, my heart skipping at the slight hope that it would be her, no matter how irrational I knew it was.

I bit my lip, trying to contain my grin as I opened and read the text.

_[Unknown Number] Hey, this is Aubrey, from the subway._

I started typing immediately but stopped. I didn't want to seem overeager by responding right away. The fact that she'd texted me was huge and I didn't want to scare her off. But then I realized that she could see I read her text, and she may have even seen that I'd started typing and she might've been wondering why I stopped.

I groaned. I wasn't used to being this insecure about someone, but then again, I didn't ordinarily talk to hot strangers on the subway, let alone gave them my number. I rolled my eyes at myself and finished the text.

_Hey, Aubrey from the subway. I'm glad you texted. :)_

It didn't take long for her to type a reply and I relaxed, thinking she probably wasn't freaking out as much about this as I was. Or at least wasn't over analyzing response times.

_[Subway hottie] My best friend talked me into giving you a chance._

_I'm gonna have to thank her sometime. Although I'm kind of hurt that you had to be talked into it._

_[Subway hottie] I'm a bit wary about talking to strange people I met on the subway._

_Hot, strange people.  
What sold you?_

_[Subway hottie] The hot part. :P  
[Subway hottie] Also, I googled you and you checked out._

_Oh god, please tell me you didn't go past the first page of results._

Aubrey took a longer time to respond this time and I was getting nervous. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about that, but one of my friends from college had a dumb site where she documented her entire life, which included a few drunk, mostly ridiculous pictures of me which wasn't good as far as first impressions went.

_[Subway hottie] I did not but now I'm thinking I should have.  
[Subway hottie] Did I miss the article about you murdering a family and eating their corpses?_

_No, just embarrassing photos from college._

_[Subway hottie] Now I'm definitely gonna have to see them._

I chuckled, feeling my cheeks grow warm. This was going way better than I expected.

_I feel like I should at least know your last name so I can google you._

_[Subway hottie] How about I tell you tomorrow in person?_

_Sounds like a plan._

I put my phone down for a moment. I'd managed to get the girl (sort of) in time for dinner with Alice, but I didn't want to ruin everything by bringing that up. I could probably make an excuse for her missing dinner and introduce them later, after we'd moved past the first dates' awkwardness and I could explain the whole thing.

We kept texting for the rest of the afternoon and I already feel myself liking her more than I should at this point. She was smart and funny and cute and all I could think about the next morning was seeing her on the subway. I was so excited I almost took an earlier train.

When the right train finally arrived, she was waiting for me by the door. She looked better than usual, and I preened a little at the thought that she'd dressed up for me.

"Hey," I said, grabbing the handrail next to her. "You look nice."

"Thank you." She blushed and looked down, squeezing my hand and keeping her fingers around mine as the train started moving again.

She looked back up and I got lost in her eyes. The yellowish subway lights making them look more green than blue. I don't know how long I just stood there staring at her.

"It's Posen," she blurted out. I tilted my head confused, not sure about what she meant and she quickly explained. "My last name, it's Posen."

"Oh," I chuckled, taking out my phone and typing her name on the search bar.

"You're gonna google me tight now?" She asked, her voice going up in disbelief.

"I wanna make sure you're not a serial killer before I ask you out." Unfortunately, my phone didn't seem to be working underground so I ended up staring at a T-Rex saying I had no internet connection. "Oh well." I put my phone back in my pocket. "I guess I'm gonna have to risk it."

She pursed her lips defiantly and all I could think about right then was how much I wanted to kiss her. One of her eyebrows arched up in a wordless question and I moved closer. "Do you wanna do something later?"

"Something like what?"

"Dinner? Or drinks? Dinner and drinks?" I shrugged. I didn't really care what we did, I just wanted to see her for longer than our morning commute.

"Dinner sounds good." She smiled coyly. "Text me the details?"

She looked over my shoulder, her hand moving to my waist as she moved closer. I held my breath as she leaned forward, my eyes flitting down to Aubrey's lips as her tongue swiped over them. And then she pushed me gently out of the way and stepped around me to get off the train.

I turned to look at her. I knew I was gaping but I didn't care, that had been really mean. She winked at me from the platform just as the doors started closing. "See you."

* * *

"Stacie!" I turned around when I heard my name, wincing when I saw it was Alice.

"Hey, Al." I returned her hug halfheartedly.

"I don't see you for years and then we run into each other twice in just a few months, how weird is that?" She chuckled.

"Super weird…" And super annoying.

"Hey, how's that girlfriend of yours? Still sick?" I glared at the way she said girlfriend like she didn't think she was real.

"Actually, she's-"

"They didn't have vanilla so I got you chocolate," Aubrey interrupted, handing me an ice cream cone. She noticed the other person and paused. "Oh, hi."

I grabbed the cone and wrapped my arm around Aubrey's waist. "Aubrey, this is Alice, my college roommate."

"Right, it's so nice to meet you." Aubrey shook her hand. "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to dinner last month, I had a terrible cold."

"Oh, no." Alice looked like she'd just met a ghost. "Don't worry about it."

Aubrey turned to Stacie. "Babe, we should have her over at the apartment."

I opened my mouth, confused by Aubrey's phrase, it almost sounded like-

"You live together?" Alice asked skeptically.

"We just moved into this great place uptown, you should come over when we're settled."

Alice opened her mouth to say something but stopped, scrunching up her nose before finally managing half a smile. "That sounds great."

"Great!" Aubrey said cheerfully. "It was really nice to meet you, Alice."

Alice shook her hand, still looking between me and Aubrey suspiciously. "Yeah, you too."

"Bye, Al." I said with a triumphant smirk and pulled Aubrey away.

Once I was sure we were out of earshot, I looked at her and shook my head. "You didn't have to do that."

Aubrey scoffed. "I saw how she was looking at you before I got there. You're right, she's super judgy." She stopped me and pulled me closer. "Besides, you wouldn't have asked me out if it hadn't been for her."

"I would've asked you out eventually."

She chuckled, kissing the corner of my mouth and licking off an ice cream smear. "You'd been staring at me for months without doing anything."

"I didn't stare!" I replied outraged. "I just admired you from a distance."

"That sounds really creepy and stalkery." I pouted and she kissed me again, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "And flattering and cute."

"I still can't believe you didn't notice me until I talked to you." I held her waist with my free hand, trying to keep myself from smiling.

"I may have noticed you once or twice."

I gasped audibly and she started laughing. "The lies!"

She laughed harder and she let go of me. "It's not like I remember every hot stranger I see!"

"Oww!" I reached up to my chest dramatically and she rolled her eyes, stepping closer and holding me again.

I pouted exaggeratedly and she ran her hands up and down my back soothingly. "I'm never going to forget you now."

"You better not." I reached up and kissed her softly, my fingers tangling in her hair.

I let go and we started walking again, her hand liked loosely to mine as we ate our ice cream.

"So, should we start looking at apartments?" I asked, hiding my smirk behind my ice cream cone.

She rolled her eyes. "No."

"My apartment's closer to both your office and mine," I continued. "I guess it would make more sense for you to move in with me."

"We've been dating for a month."

"Oh! Can we get a puppy?"

"Stacie…" Her voice was light but it had an edge of warning to it.

"Fine." I stopped, grinning at her very serious expression. "I'll table the puppy for now."

I gave her a quick kiss and moved on, but she stayed behind with a deep, thoughtful frown on her face. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah." She shook her head and caught up to me, taking my hand. "Let's go."

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm just gonna use this to put drabbles and short prompts. If you have any requests send them on my tumblr ss-staubrey.


End file.
